


Distractions

by BlackxFirexTazz



Category: One Piece
Genre: Any typos are because my mind moves faster than my hands, F/M, Gotta throw some angst since it is following the arc, I'm pumped about it, May get NSFW in later chapters, Paulie being Paulie, You think I update too fast?, cute at times, fight me about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-15 11:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 60,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11229606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackxFirexTazz/pseuds/BlackxFirexTazz
Summary: Paulie is working as usual when out of nowhere comes a whirlwind of impishness, mischief, and flashing skin. How ever will poor Paulie handle it?





	1. Appearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of a strange relationship.

In the shipyard of Galley-La was Paulie, working diligently on a ship's rigging in silence. When he reached a break point, he stood back and wiped his forehead with a forearm, letting out a breath as he examined his work. The sounds of shouts reached his ears, making him look down past the fence to see a group of marines chasing a single woman who was wearing a sleeveless shirt that had armholes that went to her waist, showing the black and flame patterned bikini top underneath, and had on olive cargo shorts with black combat boots.

She had a shit-eating grin on her face as her bright orange eyes lit up in amusement. Despite the humor on her face, she appeared to be running for her freedom and as she got closer, Paulie noticed that her arms had matching tattoos: black flames on her forearms, black spiked chains on her biceps, and a fanged skull with black flames around it on her left shoulder. His eyes widened as she vaulted over the fence before dashing behind the ship Paulie was on to escape the group of marines following her.

The soldiers jumped over the fence and looked around for her. Paulie jumped back when the woman appeared beside him, now wearing an orange bandanna around her head to hold her messy black hair back, bandages covering the tattoos on her arms, and she had her shorts rolled up to her thighs with her shirt tucked into her belt. He spluttered as she leaned forward on the railing and watched as one of the marines approached the ship after spotting the two.

The marine waved the two down and the blond male had to do a double take as he glanced at the woman who had tugged the bandanna so that it shadowed her eyes as she put a small scowl on her face, almost completely changing the way she looked. The two made their way down before hopping down the rest of the way as the marine spoke, "Excuse me, have you two seen a black-haired female pirate around?"

The two looked at each other, a pleading glint in her eye as she looked at the blond man. He swallowed and shook his head with the woman mimicking him. Sweat beaded down Tazz's face as the marine looked closer with his hand on his chin, "You look an awful lot like who we were chasing..." Paulie cleared his throat and crossed his arms, "She's a shipwright. She's been working here for four years."

The marine narrowed his eyes a bit before finally giving her room, "What's your name, miss?" Before she could open her mouth, Paulie answered once more, "Lorelai." The Marine raised a brow questioningly at the blond man and he looked back at the woman before answering the marine's unspoken question, "She's mute." 

He pointed at a small scar on the left side of her neck, "An accident with a piece of lumber two and a half years ago." The marine nodded in understanding before he started turning, "Thank you for your cooperation." The marine turned away and shouted to the others, "She's not here! Let's head out!"

The two watched the group leave before the man turned to the woman with his arms folded across his chest and a stern look on his face, "Do you mind explaining what just happened?" Her face relaxed into it's normal expression as she let out a breath before rubbing the back of her neck with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about that. They didn't take too kindly to me kicking the shit out of one of their buddies for groping my ass." He blushed before actually registering that she was still shirtless save for a bikini top.

His eye roamed her torso against his will, momentarily resting on a long scar on her right shoulder that wrapped around from the back and ended just under her collarbone, before his face exploded in red and he sucked all the smoke from his cigar in one go. The smoke escaped him in a large plume as he started yelling, making the woman stick her fingers in her ears to muffle him, "SUCH AN OBSCENE WOMAN! PUT A SHIRT ON THIS INSTANT!" When he was done shouting his lungs out, he saw that many of his coworkers were now staring at them, including a certain infuriating raven-haired man with an odd goatee and a pigeon on his shoulder, curious as to what the commotion was.

When their eyes caught sight of the woman who crossed her arms under her generous bust, many of them let out whistles and hoots and hollers. The woman smirked and struck a pose, bending one leg at the knee and lifting it as she put her arms up with her hands behind her head. She shot a wink and blew a kiss at the audience, snickering as she saw that many had gotten nosebleeds before she rolled her shorts back down.

Paulie fumed with his face still completely red as he snatched her shirt from her belt and shoved it on her, "DON'T SHOW SO MUCH SKIN, Y-Y-YOU HARLOT!" She snickered again and adjusted her shirt, "Oh, don't be such a prude~!" He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides, "I am not a prude!"

She smirked and crossed her arms, "Oh, really? Then why are you acting so uptight about a little skin?" Poor Paulie just spluttered before grabbing the back of her shirt and starting to drag her inside Galley-La to take her to Iceburg. He stomped loudly the whole way to the main office of the company, face still tinged red as he kicked the door of the blue-haired man's office open and held Tazz up by the collar of her shirt.

Iceburg blinked at the woman before raising a brow and looking at Paulie for an explanation. The blonde dropped her unceremoniously on her rear before crossing his arms over his chest, "This little pirate thought it'd be a good idea to hide in the shipyard to escape a group of marines that had been chasing her. She distracted the workers with her immodesty!" Tazz snickered slyly with a hand over her mouth before she began unraveling the bandaging on her arms, no longer needing her tattoos hidden, and rolled the bandages up before sticking them in one of her many pockets, "It's not like they haven't seen anything like it before with how hot it gets here. All I did was take my shirt off and roll my shorts up. And it's not like I was completely topless. I did have the bikini top on, after all."

Paulie punched the top of her head, "IT WAS STILL TOO MUCH SKIN!" She yelped and held the top of her head before turning on her butt and kicking him in the shin, making him shout out in pain and fall on his ass as he held his shin, "You little shit!" Iceburg chuckled before facepalming as the other two began to wrestle and smack at each other.

He cleared his throat to get their attention, making them pause with Paulie hovering over Tazz and her legs wrapped around his waist to keep him back, pulling each other's cheeks harshly as they looked over at the man who pinched the bridge of his nose before waving a hand, "I say let her do what she wants until she leaves. What's your name, miss?" Paulie gawked at Iceburg as the woman replied cheerfully, though her speech was slurred since the blonde still had a hold on her cheeks, "Monhey D. Chazz."

Iceburg cocked a brow and took a moment to decipher her words, "Monkey D. Tazz?" She nodded and the men stared at her before the bluenette spoke again, "That's an interesting name..." She grinned and bit down on Paulie's thumb to make him release her cheeks. 

Paulie shook his hand before nursing his thumb in his mouth, cursing at her under his breath before freezing when he saw the position they were in, making him blush so fiercely steam emanated from his head. Iceburg sat back at his desk and crossed his legs, "So miss Tazz, why were you hiding from the marines?" Tazz unwrapped her legs from around Paulie's waist before lightly kicking him aside, "One of them thought it'd be funny to cop a feel so I kicked his ass. They didn't take too kindly to that." 

The blond man seemed to have short-circuited, laying sprawled on his back with steam still coming from his head and his eyes blanked out. She looked over at him and jerked her thumb in his direction as she looked at Iceburg, "Is he okay?" Iceburg chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "He should be fine in a minute or two. He's shy around women."

Tazz snickered and stood before poking him with her boot, yelping in surprise as he suddenly grabbed her ankle. He jumped up to his feet and held her upside down, not looking at her, "You sure we should just let her do as she wants, Iceburg-san? She might interfere with the workers." The bluenette nodded and smiled, "I don't see why not. If you're so concerned with her bothering the others, why don't you keep an eye on her?"

Both Tazz and Paulie furrowed their brows at his words, "HAH?!" Paulie held her away from him as if she was diseased, "Why would I want to look after this harlot?!" She swung her unrestrained leg and lightly kicked him in the head before pointing at him, "Why would I want this prude to look after me?!" She thought for a moment before grinning, "I saw a hot dude with a pigeon at the shipyard. Maybe he can look after me?"

Paulie growled and shook her by her leg, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!" Tazz grumbled and crossed her arms, "Well, it's not like either of us want you to do it, so what's the problem?" The blonde gritted his teeth and scowled, "Anyone but that guy."

Tazz looked to Iceburg with a hopeful grin, "Can that pigeon guy look after me?" Iceburg was about to reply when Paulie cut in, "I'll do it!" The blue-haired man smiled and nodded, glad to finally have a conclusion while Tazz glowered and clicked her tongue, "Tch."

Paulie then left Iceburg's office, still holding Tazz up by her leg. He made his way back to the shipyard before going to the ship he had been working on and dumping the woman on the ground, getting a yelp from her as she rubbed her head. She glared at him as he got back up on the ship before she followed behind him.

She sat down and leaned against the railing with her arms crossed as she watched him take a cigar and light it. He then went back to work and Tazz looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by lazily. After a few minutes, her eyes began to slip closed against her will.

Half an hour of relative silence passed before Paulie finally acknowledged Tazz, blinking in surprise when he saw that she was asleep. The peaceful look on her face almost made up for her brashness. He blushed lightly before shaking his head and getting back to work, his task requiring him to stand right next to her.

The sounds of someone climbing up and footsteps approaching garnered his attention and he looked over, scowling a bit when he saw that it was Lucci who had his usual stony face in a deadpan, "Whaddya want?" Lucci squatted down next to the sleeping woman with an analytic look in his eye as Hattori spoke for him, "I just wanted to see who all the commotion was about earlier." He reached out to touch Tazz's face, but was stopped when a leg got in the way, Paulie having stepped to straddle over her so that she was blocked from the dark-haired man.

Lucci cocked a brow at the blonde's behavior, looking up and seeing him still working with his sual scowl on his face but a light tint of pink on his cheeks, "Iceburg wants me to keep an eye on her and make sure she wasn't distracting anyone, much like right now." Lucci chuckled deeply and pulled his hand back before standing as the pigeon spoke, "Fine, fine. I'll probably get to meet her later anyway." Lucci turned and walked away with a small smirk on his lips.

Paulie grumbled as he watched the irritating man leave before he returned to his task, looking down at the woman under him when he heard her stirring from her slumber, "You awake? It's about time." Tazz yawned before she rubbed an eye as she looked up at him, taking a moment to realize that he was standing over her with his feet on each side of her legs. She blinked up at him before cocking her brow, not that he'd see it since her brows were still hidden under her bandanna, "Wanna explain why you're basically straddling me?"

Paulie spluttered with a bright blush before using his foot to push her out of the way, "You were in the way and I didn't want to have to deal with you awake..." He was only telling half of the truth, deciding to leave out the part about how he had to block Lucci from touching her. She hummed and settled back once she had readjusted herself in her new spot.

She looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to set. She groaned softly as she stretched her arms above her head before standing, "When do you get off? Wanna go get dinner or something?" Paulie looked at her before realizing the time and rubbing the back of his neck with a soft sigh, "I guess I'm done for the day. Where do you wanna eat?"

She shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck, "I've only been here for a day so I don't know where any good places are." He nodded and clambered down the ship before heading to the entrance with Tazz in tow, "I know of a pretty good place. It's a good distance from here so it's a bit of a walk." She shrugged and puts her hands behind her head, "I don't mind."

They walked down to where most of the restaurants and cafes were. He looked over and saw that she was glancing around with curiosity much like a child, a small smile coming to his lips before he nudged her with his elbow to get her attention before he pointed at a relatively small restaurant, "That's it right there." She grinned and grabbed his hand before running over, making him blush lightly at the contact.

They sat at a fairly secluded table in a corner of the building and they both crossed their arms over the table. Tazz smiled sheepishly and fidgeted with her fingers, "We should probably get separate bills...I tend to eat a lot..." Paulie shrugged and propped his head in his hand, "Fine by me."

They ordered their food and some beer before they fell into an awkward silence, unsure of if they should make small talk since they just met that day. Finally getting fed up with the silence, Paulie looked at her and tapped a finger against his cheek, "So how long are you staying on the island?" Tazz hummed as she thought about it before shrugging, "I dunno. A few days, maybe a week. Or longer if I feel like it." 

He thanked the waitress as she brought their beer, sending him a flirty wink that he ignored, and he took a sip with Tazz doing the same. He wiped the foam from his mouth before speaking again, "You got anywhere to stay or are you staying at an inn?" She shrugged and trailed her finger along her glass, drawing in the condensation, "I haven't found an inn yet..."

He tapped his chin before looking at her, "You wanna stay with me?" She blinked at him before tilting her head, "I thought you couldn't stand me?" He blushed lightly and looked away as he took another gulp of the amber liquid in his mug before setting it down, "Only when you're flashing everyone in the vicinity...You're more tolerable when you're fully clothed."

She chuckled and took another swig from her own mug before propping her head in her hand, "And you're a lot easier to be around when you're not yelling your head off." He grumbled and looked away with his head in his hand once more. Not too long after, their food arrives and Paulie gapes at seeing the amount of food Tazz had ordered while Tazz grinned.

They began eating in silence, the sound of silverware against the plates being the only sound between the two of them. The plates piled up as Tazz blew through them before finally finishing and patting her stomach. She gulps down the remainder of her drink with Paulie doing the same, still slightly shocked at how much the slender woman ate.

They paid their individual tabs before exiting the restaurant, both of them walking with their hands in their pockets as they headed towards the man's home with him once again in the lead. By this time, the sky had darkened and the stars began to appear. Tazz smiled softly as she looked up at the night sky, only pausing when Paulie gently took hold of her wrist to stop her from walking forward.

She looked back at him with a quizzical look and he jerked his thumb at a modest looking house, "This is my place." She nodded and let him lead the way inside before shutting the door behind her and glancing around, smiling a bit, "Cozy." He grunted and led her to his room before gesturing inside, "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

She frowned a bit and shook her head, "I can't kick you out of your bed. I don't mind sleeping on the couch..." He shook his head right back, "I can't let a woman sleep on that shitty thing. Don't complain." He ushered her inside with his hands on her back before digging through a dresser to pull out a blue Galley-La t-shirt and checkered pajama pants, "Since you don't have a bag with you, I guess you don't have anything to sleep in with you?"

She nodded and he practically shoved the clothing in her arms before grabbing a tank top for himself and heading to the door, "Go ahead and use those. I'll be in the living room if you need anything." She watched him leave and shut the door behind him before she sighed softly and tossed the clothing on his bed before quickly pulling off her shirt and bikini top and kicking her boots and shorts off. She moved them to a pile out of the way before slipping on the t-shirt and pajama pants, smiling a bit at how they were a bit too big for her.

She took off her bandanna and put it on top of her clothes before she slid under the covers after turning the lights off. She got comfortable on her stomach with her arms folded under a pillow before she fell asleep surprisingly fast. In the living room, Paulie was fast asleep, having changed into the tank top and taken his pants off to leave him in his boxers with a blanket draped over his stomach.


	2. Keeping Busy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paulie takes Tazz back to Galley-La to help him work when she suddenly collapses. Frightened and worried, Paulie rushes to Iceburg for help. After getting Tazz checked out by a doctor, Paulie returns to work, still concerned about his temporary housemate before she comes back and reassures him that she's fine. After work, they go back home for a hand-made meal and unbeknownst to him, Paulie's feelings for the woman change.

The next morning, Paulie yawned loudly as he awoke. He sat up on the couch and sleepily ruffled his long hair that was no longer slicked back and held in place by his goggles. He stretched with a grunt before kicking the blanket away and standing up, scratching his stomach as he went to the kitchen to begin making coffee.

He absentmindedly pulled out a black mug and a blue one before filling them, not quite registering what he was doing until a minute after. He blinked and stared at the mugs with furrowed brows as he mumbled, "Wait...two?" His eyes widened as he recalled the events of the previous day and he started walking to his room.

He pressed his ear against the shut door, the sound of soft breathing being the only noise from the room. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside, the soft morning light only illuminating the room a little through the closed curtains. He smiled a bit as he spotted the lump under the blankets and the mop of tousled black hair peeking out from them.

He opened the door a little more before knocking on it, "Oi, Tazz. Wake up." The lump stirred before the hair disappeared under the blankets completely as a soft grumble reached his ears. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned against the doorway, "I made coffee."

The hair reappeared along with a pair of squinted orange eyes that blearily stared at him, "Coffee?" He nodded and jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen, "Yeah. You gotta get up if you want it." Her head fell against the pillow as she sighed before kicking the covers off and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. 

She stood and wobbled a bit, holding her arms out as she caught her balance. She rubbed one of her eyes as she yawned and walked over to the door, waiting for Paulie to lead the way to the liquid heaven that is coffee. He smiled a bit at her state before pushing away from the doorway and walking down the hall to the kitchen.

Once they got there, he grabbed the mugs before handing the black one to her as he kept the blue one. Tazz smelt the delicious aroma before lightly blowing on it and taking a sip. She let out a content sigh as the liquid warmed her belly and began to wake her up.

The blond man leaned against the counter and watched her as he sipped his own coffee. After drinking about half of hers, she looked at Paulie, "You want some breakfast? The least I can do to repay you for your hospitality is cook." He thought for a moment before nodding and gestured to the refrigerator, "Sounds good. Help yourself to whatever you find."

She set her mug down, "What would you like?" He shrugged and walked over to the table before sitting down, "Surprise me." She grinned and started rummaging through his fridge, pulling out several ingredients.

He propped his head in his hand as he watched her navigate her way around the kitchen before she actually started cooking. He watched her back, nose twitching a bit when a mouth-watering smell hit it. After a bit, she found the plates and grabbed two before placing whatever she had cooked on them.

Paulie arched a brow at seeing the fluffy omurice with a rather cute face drawn in ketchup on it along with a few slices of bacon. He looked at her as she set one in front of him before taking her own seat, taking a sip of her coffee and pointedly avoiding his gaze. He quirked a small smile and started eating.

When the first spoonful hit his tongue, his eyes widened and he looked back to her in astonishment. She noticed his stare and looked at him, a light tint of pink on her cheeks, "What?" He blinked before shaking his head, "N-Nothing...This is really good. I didn't peg you to be the type that can actually cook."

She huffed softly and took a bit from her own plate as her blush darkened a fraction, "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't confident in my cooking abilities..." He chuckled softly and continued eating. They ate in silence before Tazz spoke up as she looked at him, "Now that I think about it, I don't think I got your name yesterday."

He swallowed the food in his mouth before replying, "Paulie." She nodded and looked back at her food. They finished eating in silence before they both put their plates and mugs in the sink. 

Paulie put his chin in his hand as he thought for a moment, "Hey, would you be able to make some rice balls for lunch later?" Tazz nodded and got out the rice before looking back at the man as he spoke again, "Make a lot. I've decided that you're going to be helping me work later." She sighed and nodded, "I guess that's fair."

Paulie went to his room while the woman began cooking the rice and he changed into his usual outfit along with his goggles before getting a gray three-quarter sleeve shirt for Tazz to wear since he didn't want her wearing her sleeveless top. He put it on the bed before heading back into the kitchen to see her finishing up the rice balls and putting them in a large lunchbox. He pointed back at his room and put his other hand in his pocket, "I got a clean shirt for you to wear."

She nodded and closed the lunch box before trotting passed him and to his bedroom. She closed the door behind her and pulled off the large t-shirt and pajama pants before folding them up on the bed. After putting on her pants from yesterday, she put her bikini top on before slipping the shirt over her head and tying the bandanna around her neck before putting on her shoes and heading back to Paulie who was now standing by the door with the lunchbox in hand.

Once she walked over to him, he opened the door and exiting the house and locking the door behind Tazz. He put his free hand in his pocket and she put her hands behind her head as they walked in silence. Tazz frowned a bit and rolled her sleeves up to her shoulders as the air heated up.

When they arrived at Galley-La, Paulie clocked in before walking to the ship he was working on yesterday and climbing up before setting the lunchbox aside. He then explained to Tazz what she would be doing and how to do it. He was pleasantly surprised when she caught on rather quickly.

They worked in silence, getting the tasks done in shorter time than Paulie would've done alone. When lunch time rolled around, they sat on the ground as he grabbed the box and opened it. Tazz wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm before taking a rice ball that he handed to her.

They ate in silence and watched the clouds pass by. Tazz removed the bandanna from around her neck and tied it around her head like she had yesterday to keep her hair out the way and soak up any sweat. She grumbled quietly as the heat increased, fanning herself with the collar of her shirt as she ate another rice ball.

Paulie watched her from the corner of his eye as he ate. When they finished, he moved the box aside once more before setting back to work with Tazz. After around ten minutes, Tazz frowned as her vision began to get blurry and distorted and she put a hand to her head. Paulie glanced over at her just in time to see her start to fall back.

His eyes widened and he ran over to catch her before she could hit the deck, "Oi! Tazz!" She was sweating profusely and felt too warm to be normal as her breathing became somewhat labored. He gritted his teeth around his cigar and picked her up bridal style before jumping over the railing of the ship, not even bothering to use the ladder, before he ran to HQ and to Iceburg's office.

Like yesterday, he kicked the doors open with a shout of Iceburg's name which startled the man inside. Iceburg was about to chastise him when he saw Tazz in the blonde's arms and he stood, "What happened?" Paulie entered the office and looked down at the woman, "I don't know. She just suddenly collapsed..."

Iceburg called up a doctor as Paulie gently laid Tazz down on a small loveseat off to the side in the office. Luckily, it didn't take the doctor long to show up. He began examining the woman before sighing a bit and looking to the two concerned men, "Nothing to worry about. Just a bit of heat exhaustion." The two simultaneously let out relieved sighs as they relaxed.

The doctor put his hands in the pockets of his labcoat as he began to leave, "All you need to do is prop her feet up and cool her down." He gave a farewell before exiting, leaving the two men to do as directed. Iceburg then called in his secretary Kalifa to bring in a couple of packs of ice and a wet cloth.

When the blonde woman arrived and handed the requested items over, she glanced at Tazz laying on the loveseat. She watched her for a moment before bowing a bit and leaving. Paulie took the ice packs and cloth from Iceburg as the other man propped her feet over the armrest.

Paulie frowned a bit as he put one ice pack under her neck and slipped the other under her back before removing her bandanna from her head and replacing it with the cold cloth. The blond man sat back in a nearby chair as Iceburg returned to his desk. Paulie heaved a sigh and rubbed his face as he slung his other arm over the back of the chair and Iceburg gave him a thoughtful glance before speaking, "Are you worried? Yesterday, you could barely stand being in the same room as her..."

The blond man grumbled with a slight blush and scratched the back of his head, "I ain't worried!" Obviously a lie, but the bluenette didn't comment as he returned his gaze to the woman who seemed to be in a somewhat better state, her breathing having calmed down and her sweating slowed. Paulie crossed his legs and propped his elbow on a knee before putting his chin in his hand, "I wonder why the heat got to her...Yeah, it's a lot hotter than it was yesterday, but surely not that hot..."

Iceburg shrugged and folded his hands on top of his desk, "Who knows...You can ask her later when she wakes up." Paulie nodded and rubbed his face again before standing, "I'm going to get back to work. She'll know where to find me if I don't come back before she wakes up." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he left, the blue-haired man's eyes on his back until the door shut.

When the other man left, his gaze traveled to the woman, glad that she looked a lot better than when Paulie burst into his office. He hummed and rubbed his chin in thought, feeling like there may be something blooming between Paulie and Tazz. He shrugged it off and went back to whatever he had been doing prior to Paulie's interruption.

After about an hour or so, he looked up to see Tazz slowly sitting up with a hand to her head as the cloth fell from her. She looked at her hand before glancing around until her gaze landed on Iceburg. He smiled softly and watched her swing her legs around to the floor, "You're awake. Do you know what happened?" 

She rubbed her forehead before replying, "Not really...Last I recall, I was working with Paulie and next thing I know, here I am." Iceburg folded his hands over his desk, "You passed out from heat exhaustion." She sighed softly and rubbed the back of her neck, "It probably was because of my devil fruit ability..."

The man blinked at her and slightly tilted his head, "Devil fruit ability?" She nodded and smoothed out her shorts, "Yeah. When I was eight, I ate the Beast-Beast Fruit: Model Hellhound. A drawback to the abilities it gives me is it sometimes increases my body's sensitivity to atmospheric changes whenever a blood moon is about to happen." Iceburg hummed in interest before waving a dismissive hand, "Well, I'm just glad you're okay. Paulie was quite worried about you as well. He burst in here with you in his arms looking all wide-eyed and looking like he was about to have a heart attack."

She blinked at him, surprised by his words, "He was worried about me?" The man nodded with a smile. Tazz stood and bowed politely towards him, "I'm sorry for any inconveniences I may have caused." Iceburg blinked at her, surprised by how polite she was being despite being a pirate.

He chuckled softly and waved his hand again, "It's no problem. You should go see Paulie so he knows you're alright." She nodded and thanked him before leaving the office and making her way to the shipyard. She climbed up the ladder of the ship she had been working on with the blonde and peeked over the railing, instantly spotting him with a worried and distracted look on his face.

She silently hopped over the railing and walked over, lightly putting her hand on his shoulder and making him jump. He spun around to face her with wide eyes before relaxing, relieved that she was okay though he wouldn't admit it, "So you're okay?" She smiled softly and nodded as she rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly shifting her weight from one foot to the other, "Yeah..Thanks for helping me."

He blushed a bit and scratched his nose as he looked away, "It's fine. It wasn't a big deal..." She chuckled softly and leaned forward a bit, "According to Iceburg, you made it a huge deal." Paulie stiffened and narrowed his eyes, "That guy..."

She smiled and looked at him, making his blush darken and his breath catch in his throat at the warm look on her face, "Really, though. Thank you." He averted his gaze again and rubbed his neck, "N-No problem..." She chuckled and pressed a feather-light kiss to his cheek, making him go stiff as his cigar instantly burned away to ash.

He put his hand on his cheek and the smoke plumed from his mouth with his cheeks burning bright red, "W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She laughed at his reaction before patting his back, "That was for helping me." She gave him a wink before going back to the task she had been doing before her collapse, leaving Paulie to stare at her back and grumble to himself as he got another cigar with the blush still prominent on his face.

He watched her for a moment before returning to work, thinking about the warm expression on her face from before. It struck a chord in his heart, making him blush again and pause when he realized that he wanted to see that expression again. He shook his head before getting back to work, a bit more aggressively than necessary.

They worked in silence until they finally finished all the rigging on the ship since Paulie had done a lot of it in the previous days. They both stood back before climbing down the ladder after Paulie grabbed the lunchbox. They looked up at the darkening sky and looked at each other as Paulie spoke, "I don't really feel like eating out tonight. You mind making dinner?"

Tazz smiled and shook her head, "Not at all. What do you want?" He shrugged as they started walking off in the direction of his home, "It doesn't matter to me." She hummed and started thinking about what she could cook, remembering the food items he had at home, "How about pasta?"

He thought about for a moment before nodding, "That sounds good." They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. When they arrived at the man's house, Paulie unlocked the door before holding it open for Tazz, who entered with a 'thank you'.

He shut the door behind him and walked after her to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and watched her gather all the necessary ingredients for dinner. After a moment, he scratched his cheek, "Need any help?" 

She glanced over at him and smiled before nodding, "It would be appreciated. Can you cut the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces?" He nodded and took the knife from her and took her place at the cutting board. She started making the cream sauce for the pasta.

He watched her from the corner of his eye as he continued chopping, getting a bit distracted as he watched her put the cream sauce in a pot before putting in some mussels and shrimp. He winced as he accidentally sliced his index finger, looking back and holding his hand away from the cutting board to avoid getting any blood on the mushrooms. Tazz looked over and gently took his hand, holding it near her face to examine the cut and bringing a blush to Paulie's face.

She hummed before guiding his hand under the faucet and turning the water on to rinse the blood off, "Luckily the cut isn't very deep. Do you have a first aid kit?" He nodded and watched her, "Under the sink in the bathroom..." She nodded and held his hand under the running water, "Keep that there for now."

She then went and located the bathroom across from his bedroom before returning with a square of gauze and a band-aid. She turned the water off and dried his finger with the gauze before putting the band-aid on and making sure it was secure before releasing his hand with a smile. She reached in front of him and grabbed the knife before she started washing it, "How even did you cut yourself? Were you distracted?" 

He grumbled with a light blush before taking the knife when it was handed to him, "No...I was thinking..." She hummed in response, knowing he was lying but decided not to say anything about it as she went back to stirring the sauce. When Paulie finished cutting the mushrooms, he handed the cutting board to Tazz and she slid the mushrooms into the sauce before putting the board in the sink.

Since he was now done and everything else was basically already taken care of, he leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed, absentmindedly rubbing the band-aid on his finger with his thumb as he watched her rummage through his cabinets until she found the spices. She smelled a few to identify the spices before putting some into the sauce and stirring it again.

She looked over at him and blinked a bit as she saw that he had already been staring at her before she smiled and held the spoon covered in sauce in front of his face. He blushed when he was caught staring before opening his mouth so she could put the spoon in. His eyes widened as he was once more caught off guard by her cooking skills.

He looked at her as he licked his lips, "It's delicious." His heart skipped a beat at the pleased smile on her face. She took a taste of the sauce as well before nodding, "All that's left is to cook the pasta. Will you get a couple of plates?" His face blushed brightly as he realized that it was basically an indirect kiss before he snapped out of his reverie and nodded, retrieving two plates and setting them close to the stove.

Tazz thanked him and started cooking the pasta. When it was finished, she put the pasta on the plates before ladling the delectable cream sauce over top. She handed one plate to him before going to the small table and sitting with Paulie following suit and sitting across from her. 

They dug in and ate in silence and Paulie secretly marveled at the taste of the food before glancing at Tazz and seeing a small content smile on her face. It brought a smile to his own lips before he returned to eating. They soon finished and Tazz got a second helping as Paulie put his plate in the sink before turning to her, "I'm gonna go take a shower."

She nodded as she continued eating, watching him walk off to the bathroom before moving her gaze to her food. She ate another plate after that one before putting up any left-overs and washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Paulie was standing under steaming water with his eyes closed, mind on the woman staying with him.

He grumbled and washed his hair with a light blush on his face, soon getting lost in his thoughts.


	3. Blood Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dinner, Paulie is in the shower when he heard a crash from the kitchen. He runs out to find Tazz on the floor. What he finds out surprises him.

Back in the kitchen, Tazz is humming softly to herself as she dried the dishes after washing them. When she was on the last plate, she froze as red light washed over her from the kitchen window and she looked up to see a deep red full moon. She dropped the plate and grasped her throat as an intense, burning thirst overcame her before she fell to the ground and curled in on herself.

A shattering crash followed by a loud thud brought Paulie out of his daze. He quickly shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist before hurrying out of the bathroom and to the kitchen. He glanced around before seeing Tazz curled up on the ground clutching her chest and throat and a shattered plate a foot away from her, "Tazz!"

He rushed over and knelt next to her, gently sitting her up so she could lean against him with his arm behind her back, "What's wrong? What happened?" Her eyes flew open after having been shut tightly in pain and she stiffened against him before weakly trying to push him away. He furrowed his brows at her attempts to move him and he only tightened his hold as he looked down at her, noticing that her pupils were thin slits, "Tazz, tell me what's going on."

She panted lightly and pointed at the window, "Please...Close the curtains..." He looked at her for a moment before releasing her and standing. He quickly closed the curtains, shutting the red light out, before turning and going back to his previous position, once more putting his arm around her, "Now what happened?"

Only when the curtains were fully closed did she relax, looking less pained than before though the intense thirst was still present. She let out a shaky breath and looked at the floor, "My devil fruit makes me go a bit haywire whenever there's a blood moon..." He furrowed his brows again and sat on the ground, still leaning her against him as water continued dripping down his skin, "What do you mean by haywire?"

She bit her bottom lip before rubbing her face, "It makes me extremely thirsty..." He blinked at her before arching a brow, "Thirsty? Is that it?" She sighs softly and holds onto her upper arms, "Yes...but it's a thirst I'd rather not quench no matter how much pain it causes me..."

He looked at her for a moment before asking softly, "What is it you're thirsty for...?" She kept her eyes glued to the floor, unable to bring herself to look at him, "Blood..." His eyes widened as he looked at her in shock, "Blood? Why blood?"

She shrugged a shoulder and ran a hand through her hair, "I-I don't know...It's because of my type of devil fruit..." Something moving at the edge of his vision caught his attention and he looked down before his eyes widened again when he saw a thin, black tail with a fluffy tuft of orange fur at the end coming from above the waistband of her shorts. The tail was easily longer than Tazz was tall and it curled in on itself and he looked back at the woman when she spoke once more, "My devil fruit is the Beast-Beast Fruit: Model Hellhound...A mythical zoan type. It also was the cause of my collapse earlier since it makes my body more sensitive to atmospheric changes and temperature increases before a blood moon..."

He stared at her as he took in the information before worry once more overtook his face when she grasped her throat and let out a painful cough. He frowned and lightly rubbed her back, "How long does this last...?" She sighed and rubbed her throat, "Until the sun comes up..."

He thought for a moment before getting a determined look, "If you drink blood, will it end early?" She nodded and frowned, "I don't want to drink any, though...It makes me a monster..." Paulie frowned and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a hug, "You're not a monster. You can't help it."

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him, seeing him looking away with a light blush on his face. She blinked when his hand was put on the back of her head and shoved her face in the crook of his neck before he spoke, "Drink." Her hands moved against her will, one reaching under his arm to grasp his bare back while the other buried itself in his hair to tilt his head to the side, "I-I can't..." He let out a soft chuckle and hugged her a bit tighter, his other hand splaying across her back, "You say that yet you're already getting ready for it."

She bit her lower lip in reluctance before sighing softly when the hand on the back of her head pressed a bit more. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, pressing it against the crook of Paulie's neck before she bit down, her sharp canines easily piercing the skin to let blood pour into her mouth. The blond winced a bit at the initial pain before it quickly faded into a faint ache.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he let her drink from him. They sat quietly, the only sound coming from Tazz's swallowing. Once she had her fill, she removed her mouth before dragging her tongue over the bite mark, the small wound healing swiftly. She pulled back from the man after letting go of him and looked at him with a worried expression, "I didn't drink too much, did I...?"

Paulie blushed and shivered a bit when he felt her tongue before letting her move back a bit but still holding her shoulders, shaking his head at her question, "Nah. How are you feeling?" He looked her over and sighed in relief when she no longer appeared to be in pain. She looked at the ground and scratched her cheek, "I'm fine now...I'm sorry about that. I didn't know there was going to be a blood moon..."

He shook his head again and lightly squeezed her shoulders, "You don't have to apologize. It's not like you could help it." She smiled softly before actually getting a good look at him. Her eyes widened as her face turned beet red.

He arched a brow before looking down and blushing just as bright upon realizing that he was naked save for a towel around his waist. He jumped up and held the towel tight to him before rushing to his room, leaving Tazz to sit stunned on the floor. When she snapped out of her trance, she smiled softly despite the still burning blush on her face before she started cleaning the broken plate as her tail waved lazily behind her.

When she heard a throat clear behind her as she was putting the shards in the trash, she looked behind her to see Paulie, still blushing but now dressed in the tank top from the previous night along with blue pajama pants. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked off to the side, "Sorry about that...I wasn't really thinking when I rushed out of the bathroom to see what happened..." She smiled and patted off her hands before shaking her head, "It's alright. I appreciate the concern..."

He nodded slowly before heading across to the living room, "Well, the bathroom's open now if you want a shower..." She nodded and walked down to his room, getting the pajamas she was given. She trotted across the hall to the bathroom before shutting the door behind her with a small sigh.

Paulie slumped to the couch before reclining back with his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed on top of the armrest. He stared at the ceiling as he thought about Tazz, wondering about the mystery that surrounded her devil fruit. His eyes slipped shut as the sound of the shower shutting off met his ears.

As he began to drift off, the soft pattering of bare feet came closer and he felt what seemed to be a hand against his cheek, gently stroking the skin with a thumb before he finally fell asleep. He woke a few hours later, groaning softly and shifting into a more comfortable position before realizing two things: one, there was a pillow under his head and two, a blanket had been draped over him.

He opened his eyes and blinked at the ceiling before looking at the blanket. He furrowed his brows, not remembering if he had put it on before he moved it aside before standing. He glanced at the pillow, confused as to how it had gotten there since he didn't get it the other night. 

He scratched the back of his head before quietly walking to his bedroom, opening the door to see Tazz fast asleep with a pillow missing from the bed. He smiled softly and blinked when he heard her make soft whimpers in her sleep. He silently entered the room and walked closer, watching her face contort into a look of fear and sadness and he wondered what she was dreaming about.

She was running through a dark, foggy forest to get away from the large beast that chased her. She glanced back before letting out a yelp when she tripped over a tree root that was sticking out of the ground. She landed with a thud before scrambling up against the large tree trunk, glancing around for her pursuer.

She let out a relieved sigh when she didn't see the creature. Her relief was short lived when drops of a red liquid dripped onto her legs and the strong smell of iron made her nose wrinkle. She looked up and her heart dropped when she saw the glowing orange eyes of the hellhound that was crouched on a low, thick branch of the the tree she was against, its long and thin tail snaking around her neck.

The beast snarled, showing off its massive, sharp teeth dripping with blood before it lunged and everything went black. She shot up in the bed, her eyes wide with fear and cold sweat dripping down her neck. Her eyes scanned the room before landing on a worried Paulie who had a hand on her shoulder. 

Her shoulders slumped and her pounding heart began to slow down. He lightly squeezed her shoulder as he sat next to her on the edge of the bed, "You alright?" She sighed heavily and nodded slowly as she rubbed her hand over her face, "Yeah...It was just a nightmare..."

He frowned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. She stiffened before relaxing when he started rubbing her back. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and held on to his shirt with a shaky breath.

He stayed silent for a moment before looking down at the top of her head, "Do you wanna talk about it?" She nodded slowly before speaking, "I...was being chased. The thing that was chasing me was the hellhound form my devil fruit gives me...It attacked me and then everything went black..." He continued rubbing her back, "Why are you afraid of it?"

She tightened her grip on his shirt before relaxing again, "I can't control it. I...almost killed my brother and childhood friends." He froze as he looked down at her. His face softened when she started trembling a bit and he felt something soak into the fabric of his tank top.

He resumed rubbing her back, urging her to continue. She sniffled softly, "We were attacked by a big group of thugs when I was eight. My brother was seven and my friends were both ten. One of the thugs kicked my brother, making him hit his head and he started bleeding. I saw red right at that moment before I blacked out. When I woke up, I was laying on the ground with a big gash on my right shoulder and my brother leaning over me and my friends where trying to stay away." She choked back a sob before continuing, "Their eyes were filled with fear and they all had more wounds than before I blacked out. Luffy told me that I changed into my animal form and almost massacred the thugs before they ran away before I actually killed any of them. Then my brother told me that I attacked him and my friends and almost killed them before they managed to subdue me. From that moment on, I swore that I'd never use that form." Paulie stayed silent as he listened, hand still running over her back.

He sighed softly and hugged her a bit tighter, "I'm sure you'll get control over it someday..." She let out a shaky breath as she returned the hug with a small nod, "Maybe..." He blushed lightly and took a deep breath before pressing his lips to the top of her head.

He inwardly frowned when he felt her tense and expected to be pushed away. He blinked when he felt her tighten her arms around him before she looked up at him, "Will...will you sleep in here tonight?" The frightened look on her face tore at his heart and he nodded, "Yeah. Let me go get my pillow."

He somewhat reluctantly released her before standing and exiting the room, quickly returning with the pillow tucked in his arm. He shut the door and walked over to the empty side of the bed and set the pillow down before getting under the covers. He got comfortable on his side as Tazz did the same. 

They stared at each other for a moment before closing their eyes. After a few minutes, he peeked an eye open to see that Tazz was once more fast asleep and he smiled softly, glad that she was no longer looking so scared. He saw that she had a hand laying against her pillow with the palm facing up and he swallowed before slowly reaching up, slipping his hand in hers with a blush.

When she lightly squeezed his hand in her sleep, he smiled a bit and closed his eye again before drifting off to sleep rather quickly.


	4. Awkward Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paulie wakes up to find himself cuddling Tazz, who he thinks is still asleep. After getting back from work and eating lunch, the two go out and get Tazz some clothes for her stay before they run into someone unexpected.

Paulie began to wake with a soft groan as the morning light peeped through the curtains and hit his eyelids. He grumbled and hugged something very soft as he tried to fall back asleep. He froze when he heard a soft, feminine mumble and he furrowed his brows with his eyes still closed as he squeezed his hand.

Another sound not from him made him partially open his eyes. It took his sleepy mind a minute to process that there was another body in his bed with fluffy black hair. His eyes shot open and he gaped at the back of the woman's head before remembering that he had stayed in his room after waking Tazz up from a nightmare.

He relaxed a bit before furrowing his brows again, trying to figure out what the warm, soft thing in his hand was as he squeezed it again. He got another groan from her and his eyes widened again as he fully realized that he had Tazz held close against him and his face exploded in color as he put two-and-two together to find out that he was grasping one of her large breasts through the t-shirt while his other hand was splayed against her stomach under the shirt. He quickly moved away, ending up falling off of the bed with a loud thud.

He stared up at the ceiling with one leg tangled in the sheets and the other in the air. Tazz's head popped out as she rubbed her eye, "You alright?" He stared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding, "Y-Yeah..." She laid on her stomach and crossed her arms over the edge before resting her chin on them, "You know, if you wanted a touch, you could've just asked."

When she hinted that she was awake while he was cuddled against her, his face steamed from how hard he was blushing and his eyes blanked out, getting a soft laugh from the woman. She stood up and stretched before heading to the door, "I'm gonna make some coffee and breakfast." Silence was her answer and she chuckled again before leaving the room and heading to the kitchen.

After having the coffee brewed and mugs filled, she set the blue one at Paulie's seat before she got started on bacon and pancakes. Ten minutes in, she heard feet against the wooden floor and glanced over, seeing Paulie as he rubbed the back of his head with his blush starting to calm down. He wordlessly sat down and sipped his coffee as he watched her cook.

He propped his chin in his hand, watching her expertly flip a pancake. He absentmindedly brought his mug to his lips before almost choking on his coffee when she started swaying her hips while softly singing a pirate shanty under her breath. He patted his chest and calmed down before watching her again, smiling softly to himself and thinking about how he could get used to pleasant mornings like this.

When she finished cooking, she set his plate full of pancakes and bacon in front of him before sitting across from him. She sipped her coffee before she began eating along with Paulie. After a moment of silent eating, he kept his gaze on his plate as he spoke, "You don't have to come with me today. All I have scheduled left is detailing which should only take a couple of hours. I should be back in time for lunch." 

Tazz nodded and resumed eating before finishing up with Paulie not too far behind. She stood and grabbed their empty plates and mugs before walking to the sink, "Go ahead and get ready. I'll take care of these." He watched her for a moment before standing and heading to his room to get dressed.

When he returned to the kitchen, he found Tazz wiping the counter and table clean. She noticed him and smiled, putting the rag in the sink before walking with him to the door. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Paulie hugged her.

She barely had enough time to return the hug before the blond was rushing out the door with a quick, 'See you later.' She let out an exasperated sigh before smiling at the door as it slammed shut. She then returned to tidying up.

She swept the floors and made the bed before folding the blanket that Paulie left in the living room and draping it over the back of the couch. She put her hands on her hips as she looked around for something to do. On his way to Galley-La, Paulie sighed and rubbed his head as his heart finally stopped pounding in his chest.

He clocked in and went back to the ship he'd been working on and climbed up the ladder. He started finishing up the details in silence. He finished around noon and clocked out before making his way home.

When he arrived, he entered to see Tazz trot over with a grin, "Welcome back!" Suddenly, mischief glinted in her orange eyes and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward a bit, "Would you like a bath first or lunch?"

She pouted her lips as she leaned closer, making Paulie's heart skip a beat, "Or me?" It took him a moment to process her words before he blushed fiercely and brought his fist down on her head, "IDIOT!" She yelped and rubbed her head with both hands with an actual pout, "I was just teasing. You're too fun to mess with and easy to fluster."

He crossed his arms with a huff and glared at her, cheeks still red, "Yeah, well don't unless you want to be punished." She gave him a sly look and smirked widely, "Oh? You'll punish me?" His cheeks darkened and he hit the top of her head again, "NOT LIKE THAT, DUMBASS!"

She yelped again and held the top of her head as she childishly stuck her tongue out at him. He returned the gesture before grumbling and heading to the kitchen, blinking when he saw two bowls of delicious looking ramen on the table. He cocked a brow and looked back at Tazz who walked behind him, still rubbing her head.

She walked passed him and sat down in her seat, "Right after you left, I found the market and bought some more food things. I cheated a little and got a soup base starter and noodles since it probably would've taken too long to make the broth from scratch." He took his spot before smelling the aromatic steam and inspecting the ramen, seeing two slices of finely marbled pork on top along with slices of fishcake and a boiled egg, all topped with thin strips of seaweed and scallions.

She crossed her ankles under the table as she looked at her own bowl, "All I did was cook a few things and put it all together." He smiled and took a pair the pair of chopsticks, "I'm sure it'll be just as good as if you made it by hand." She blushed lightly and smiled back, taking her own chopsticks before they began to eat.

Paulie hummed at the amazing taste before eating a bit more enthusiastically. The dish was refreshing to eat after working. He was soon slurping down the broth before setting the empty bowl on the table and wiping his mouth with a grin, "That was great."

She smiled and finished her own bowl, albeit at a slower pace than him before standing and taking his bowl, "I'm glad you think so." She quickly cleaned the dishes before putting them away. Paulie watched her before standing and rubbing the back of his neck, "Hey, do you...wanna go do something? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I just figured it'd be better than just sitting around here with nothing to do..."

She looked at him and smiled as he shyly stared at the ground, shuffling his feet as he rubbed the back of his neck with a light blush. She chuckled softly and nodded, "I'd like that." He looked up at her and grinned, "I'll take you to some of my favorite places to hang out."

She nodded again and started heading to his room, "We can go right after I change." She disappeared inside his room and Paulie went to the living room and sat on the couch to wait. He nearly jumped up, having been lost in thought when she tapped his shoulder.

She laughed softly, making him blush and grumble before standing and walking to the door and opening it. Only when he looked back to her did he realize she was wearing another one of his shirts, a white button up with the top button open and sleeves rolled up to her elbows to show off the flame tattoos on her forearms, and a pair of dark jeans that he had forgotten to throw out when they no longer fit. He blushed lightly as he saw that the pants fit her legs rather nicely and watched her rub the back of her head with a sheepish smile, "I hope you don't mind...I helped myself to your clothes since I really don't have anything else to wear.."

He found himself actually liking the look of her in his clothes, though he didn't say it. He waved a dismissive hand, "It's fine. Let's go." He exited the house and locked the door once Tazz went through.

They started walking, both of them sticking their hands in their pockets. Tazz had a content smile on her face and Paulie was staring ahead before looking over at his companion, "We should probably get you some clothes while we're out." She nodded in agreement, "Where will we put my clothes?"

He shrugged a shoulder and looked back ahead, "I've got a spare dresser." A thought crossed her mind and she halted in her steps, making Paulie stop as well as he looked at her quizzically. She had an apprehensive look on her face as she rubbed the back of her neck, "About that...It's almost like I'm moving in with you. I don't want to keep making you sleep on the couch and I don't even know when I'm going to leave..."

She began to look a bit saddened by the thought, "I'm sure if I even ended up staying here, you wouldn't want me to stick around at your place...." Paulie watched her for a moment before sighing softly and pulling her into a side-hug, "No way in hell would I kick you out, as cheeky as you can be. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's just focus on getting you more comfortable." Tazz's face brightened and she grinned before hugging him tightly, making him blush before releasing him.

Paulie decided to take a risk and he slipped his hand in hers, blushing a bit more when she reciprocated the hold on his hand. They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, arriving at the shopping district quicker than expected. The looked around before Tazz pulled him into a nearby clothing store.

She released his hand to pick out various outfits before taking them to the dressing rooms. Paulie sat down in a chair as Tazz went into one of the rooms and closed the curtain behind her. After a minute of fabric rustling, she pulled the curtain back to show him the rather tight fitting black sleeveless shirt with cream fur around the shoulders and camouflage cargo pants that she tucked into her boots.

His brows rose when he saw how well the outfit fit her personality. He nodded in approval, actively ignoring just how well the shirt fit around her chest and she closed the curtain again. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest.

When it opened, she was wearing a black, cropped, long-sleeve keyhole sweater with a turtle neck collar and large holes over the shoulders and a pair of fairly short dark denim shorts. His face flushed at the side and he was vaguely aware of a tattoo peeking out from the shorts on both of her thighs before he jumped up and shut the curtain, getting a laugh from the other side. He grumbled and sat back down before rubbing his face.

After trying on a few more casual outfits, she put back on the clothes she had been wearing along with a black waistcoat and a pair of black gloves. She grabbed a few tank tops, pajama shorts and pants, and underwear before she took all the clothes to the register with Paulie trailing behind, having forgotten about the skin-exposing outfit she had tried on earlier and not realizing they were in her pile of clothes. She purchased all of the clothes and carried the two bags in one hand before they left that store.

She smiled happily and had a small skip in her step as they went back to walking. Paulie smiled softly and puffed on the cigar he lit after exiting the building as he watched her from the corner of his eye before turning his gaze ahead only to curse under his breath at who he saw. He glanced around for anything that could keep them from running in to Lucci, who seemed to have caught sight of the two.

The wavy-haired man smirked a bit as he saw Paulie and the mysterious girl next to him. Paulie quickly looked at Tazz to get her attention and keep it on him, "Would you want to go out for dinner or cook again?" Tazz hummed and tucked her chin in her fist as she thought before smiling, "How about we go out?"

Paulie was about to respond when a high-pitched voice cut in, making him groan and pinch the bridge of his nose as it spoke, "Hello there. You must be Paulie's new friend." Lucci stood in front of Tazz who looked up at him with a small smile, "Ah! I remember you! I saw you when I hid in the shipyard." He gave a small smirk and held out his hand, which the woman took in hers.

Both Paulie and Tazz's eyes widened when Lucci, instead of shaking her hand, brought it to his face and pressed his lips to her knuckles through the glove, making her blush lightly. Lucci paused for a second when he caught Paulie's scent from her, making him glance at said man who was giving him a hard stare before politely releasing Tazz's hand. He nodded his head towards her with a small smile as the pigeon spoke once more, "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss..."

Hattori trailed off, waiting for her name. She blinked before snapping out of the slight daze that the kiss to her hand had put her in, "Oh, sorry! My name is Tazz." Lucci smiled again as Hattori continued, "Miss Tazz. I must be going now, but I do hope we see each other again."

He stepped around the two, his arm lightly brushing against Tazz's shoulder as he started walking again. Paulie grumbled and let out a breath of smoke before moving to Tazz's right side and grabbing her hand. She blushed and blinked up at him as he scowled, a light blush on his cheeks as they went back to walking and he started rubbing her knuckles with his thumb as if it would get rid of the kiss.

She smiled when she realized he had gotten jealous and she looked ahead, lightly squeezing his hand and making his blush darken. They continued walking and holding each other's hands shyly, eventually lacing their fingers together. They looked at the shops together and a few hours passed by surprisingly quickly and the sky began to turn pink from the sunset.

The decided to eat at a simple restaurant and ordered their food after being seated. Tazz ordered significantly less than she usually eats since Paulie had offered to pay. He rubbed the back of his head once the waiter left and he leaned over the table, "You didn't have to get less..."

She smiled softly and crossed her arms over the table, "It's fine. I'm not all that hungry anyway." He hummed in response before leaning back in his seat. She lightly tapped her fingers on the table as they waited in silence.

After a moment, Paulie scratched his cheek with a finger and looked at the table, "About earlier...I don't mind if you stay with me." She blinked at him before propping her head in her hand, "But what about you? I don't want you to go back to sleeping on the couch..." He blushed lightly and kept his eyes on the table, "We can share the bed....if you're alright with it, that is..."

She smiled softly and nodded, "I don't mind. It is your bed, after all." He nodded back and watched as their food was brought to the table. They began eating, making some small talk now rather than the silence that they would usually eat it.

After dinner, they walked back to Paulie's house before entering it as they laughed at a joke Tazz had made. They smiled at each other before Paulie sat on the couch, "You can go shower first." Tazz nodded and took her bags to his room, quickly putting her clothes in the drawers of the empty dresser in a corner of the room before getting the large shirt that Paulie first lent to her and a pair of orange pajama shorts and black panties and heading across the hall.

She started the shower and shut the door before stripping down and putting her clothes in a pile by the door. She stepped under the hot water and sighed happily at the temperature. She started humming as she began washing her hair.

In the living room, Paulie blinked as he heard her start singing the same song as she had that morning, Binks' Sake he believed it was called. He smiled and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the back of the couch as he listened to her beautiful singing. The song came to an end far too soon for his liking and he sighed softly before standing when the bathroom door opened.

He stiffened when he saw Tazz exit the bathroom in his shirt and short pajama shorts that exposed a lot of skin and he know saw that she more tattoos than he initially thought: dark green thorny vines wrapping around her upper right thigh with a black rose on the inside while her left thigh had black and orange barbed wire wrapping around the middle. His face flushed brightly and before he had the chance to chastise her for showing so much skin, she flashed him a sweet smile that made his heart jump in his chest as she rubbed at her hair with a towel. He grumbled and looked away and went in his room to get his pajamas from the previous night before heading to the bathroom, face still red as he shut the door.

She smiled at the door before heading into the room and putting her clothes from the day in the laundry and finishing drying her hair. She turned on the lamp before she clambered onto the bed and slipped under the covers. It wasn't long until the bathroom door opened and Paulie entered the bedroom while drying his hair much like Tazz had. After tossing the towel in the hamper, he brushed his hair back with his hand before getting on his side of the bed. 

After they both got settled in, Tazz turned off the lamp and closed her eyes. Only when she was fast asleep did Paulie cautiously pull her back against him, this time on his own free will rather than in his sleep. He nuzzled the top of her head before blushing brightly, realizing how weird he was acting. 

He sighed heavily before closing his eyes, not quite wanting to let go of her yet. He soon fell asleep, subconsciously tangling their legs together as they slept. Nothing disturbed the two throughout the night and they slept peacefully.


	5. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paulie has the day off so he takes Tazz on a walk.

When late morning light made him wake up, he reached up and rubbed his face, other arm subconsciously squeezing the warmth against his side closer. He opened his bleary eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before feeling movement on his side. He looked over and his eyes widened when he saw Tazz cuddled against him with an arm draped over his chest and her head on his shoulder.

He saw that he had his arm around her and was still holding her to him. Instead of panicking like he did yesterday morning, he swallowed and blushed as he examined her sleeping face. His eyes trailed from her messy hair, to the thick lashes of her closed eyes, and landing on her plump lips that were slightly parted as she breathed softly.

He noticed that she started to wake up and he quickly shut his eyes as he turned his head back to the ceiling, pretending to still be asleep. He felt her move against his side before she leaned over him. He fought to keep a blush down when he felt the lips he had been looking at a moment ago press against his cheek. 

When he felt her move away, he cracked an eye open a fraction to see her getting out of bed and only when she left the room did he let his face burst out in a blush. He put a hand to his cheek and let out a shaky breath before rubbing the hand over his face to try to calm him blush. He got out of bed and ran a hand through his hair to smooth it back before heading to the kitchen when he smelt coffee.

He peeked his head inside and blushed brightly once more when he was harshly reminded of just how short her pajama shorts were before something caught him by surprise. He saw her long tail swaying behind her, slightly bobbing in time with her humming. He walked up behind her, his eyes never leaving her tail, "I thought you only had a tail during the blood moon..."

She looked back at him and flashed a grin before returning to cooking, "Nah. I have it all the time, but I usually just keep it wrapped around my leg to hide it in my pants." He furrowed his brow and thought back to the previous night, not recalling seeing it, "Then why didn't I see it last night when you got out of the bathroom?" She flipped the french toast that was sizzling in the pan, "I had it wrapped around my waist under the shirt."

He watched her for a moment before sighing softly and grabbing his already filled mug. He leaned against the counter and watched her as he sipped his coffee. She put a few pieces of french toast on two plates before handing one to Paulie who nodded his thanks.

They went over to the table and sat before they started eating. A few minutes in, Paulie looked up at her, "I'm off today. Do you wanna go somewhere?" She hummed in thought before nodding with a smile, "I'd love to."

He blushed lightly and went back to eating. When they finished, Paulie stood and took their plates, surprising Tazz before he walked to the sink, "I'll take care of these this time. You can go ahead and get ready." She smiled and went to the bedroom before she started digging through her dresser.

Paulie stood at the sink as he washed the dishes, thinking about what they could do for the day. While drying his hands with a towel, he turned around to see Tazz walk back into the kitchen wearing the same black, cropped, keyhole sweater and shorts that she had tried on yesterday. His face turned bright red and he threw the towel on the floor, "NO WAY IN HELL ARE YOU WEARING THAT!!"

She smirked and put her hands on her hips, "The only way you can get me to change is if you take me out of these clothes yourself~!" His face steamed and he picked up the towel from the floor and threw it at her head before he stomped off to the bedroom, muttering and grumbling under his breath. He shut the door behind him a bit harder than needed before his shoulders slumped in defeat as he heaved a sigh, "That woman..."

He ran a hand through his hair before he started changing into his usual outfit, topping it off with his goggles on his head. He exited the room and saw Tazz waiting for him by the door with her hands clasped behind her back and her attention drawn elsewhere. He walked up to her and put a hand in his pocket, "Ready?"

She looked at him and gave a cute grin before nodding and opening the door. When she turned, his breath hitched when he saw how nicely the shorts fit her rear, though he wouldn't admit it. His face burned again and he grumbled quietly as he followed her out, locking the door behind him before getting a cigar and lighting it.

They started walking ahead, Paulie with his hands in his pockets and Tazz with her arms childishly swinging back and forth with a smile. Paulie watched her from the corner of his eye, getting an odd feeling in his chest at seeing her so happy. He took a drag of his cigar before letting the smoke out in a sigh as he looked back ahead.

They walked around for a while, making small talk and just looking around. After Paulie brought up the subjects of childhood, Tazz started talking rather animatedly about how much of a troublemaker her brother and friends were when younger, though she wasn't much better herself. Paulie smiled a bit as he listened and watched her gesture wildly as she recounted tales from her younger days.

He was about to comment when an all-too-familiar voice cut him off, "Hello there, miss Tazz. It appears that we meet again." Tazz looked ahead and saw Lucci with Hattori yet again perched on his shoulder. She smiled politely and nodded, "So it seems."

She realized at this point that she still didn't know his name, and she couldn't bother herself to ask him. Her smile became a bit uneasy when she saw his eyes trail up and down her body appreciatively and taking in the clothes she was wearing. He smirked a bit and met her gaze once more, "My, my. Your outfit makes you look stunning."

A light blush tinted her cheeks and she rubbed the back of her head at his compliment, though it was a bit unnerving to hear it from the bird, "Thank you." She sent a teasing glance at the blond next to her, "At least someone appreciates it." Paulie grumbled and looked away as he lightly chewed on the butt of his cigar.

Lucci took a small step closer and smirked a bit when he no longer smelt the blond man's scent on her. Hattori opened his beak and was about to ask Tazz out for dinner when Paulie's arm wrapping around Tazz stopped him. Lucci looked at the man with an arched brow.

Paulie just gave him the usual scowl and pulled Tazz against his side, "We're kinda busy at the moment." Tazz blushed lightly and blinked before giving the black-haired man an apologetic smile, "Sorry..." Lucci stared at them for a moment before smirking as Hattori spoke, "Very well. I shall leave you two alone, then."

He nodded to Tazz, "Miss Tazz." He started walking in the direction that Paulie and Tazz had come from. Paulie let out a sigh and his shoulders sagged, "It's about time he left."

Tazz smirked and poked his arm that was still around her, "What was this all about?" Paulie blushed brightly and quickly pulled his arm from her before shoving his hands in his pockets, "N-Nothing..." He blushed darker when he heard Tazz chuckle before the sounds of several footsteps reached his ears.

He looked up and saw a group of men chasing a guy who appeared to have stolen something. His eyes widened and he grabbed Tazz's upper arm before jumping into an alley to get out of the way. He grumbled and looked back to see the group passing by.

He let out a sigh before looking at Tazz, "You alr-" He cut himself off and his eyes widened when he saw the position they were in. He was hovering over her on his hands and knees, one of his legs between hers and his hands by her head while she was on her back staring up at him with equally wide eyes and a bright blush.

The stayed like that for a few minutes, just staring at each other. He blocked the light from her, shadowing her under him and he would've teased her about making her speechless if he wasn't like that himself. From Tazz's view, the sunlight was surrounding him like a halo and her heart thudded in her chest.

His face soon matched hers and no matter how much he wanted to move, he couldn't bring himself to. The sight of her flustered under him put him in a trance for a moment before he snapped out of it and finally put a name to the feelings he had been experiencing around her. He swallowed nervously as he looked down at her, "Tazz, I-" 

His voice caught in his throat and it became so much harder to say those words than he thought it would be. She blinked up at him, silently urging him on. When he found he wasn't able to speak coherently, he growled to himself before he leaned down and crashed his lips to hers as he shut his eyes tightly, secretly glad that his cigar dropped from his mouth right before he grabbed her.

Her eyes widened before slipping shut as her arms wrapped around his neck and slipped a hand into his hair, pulling him a bit closer. He broke the kiss and pulled back a bit, panting lightly as he looked down at her. She gave him a warm smile, "I heard you loud and clear."

After a minute of just staring at each other, Paulie finally stood and took her hand before pulling her up. He patted any dirt from her back with a blush still on his face. He took another cigar from his jacket and put it in his mouth as he dug around his pockets for his matches. 

A finger with black flames popped up in his vision and he stared at it before following the arm to Tazz. He arched a brow, silently questioning the flames. She shrugged and held her finger to his cigar, "Part of my devil fruit ability."

He exhaled some smoke and watched as the fire on her finger extinguished itself as he stuck his hand in his pocket, blush finally calming down. He blinked as he felt her nudge his free hand and looked down to see her gently take his hand, intertwining their fingers before he looked back at her with another blush.

She smiled sweetly and lightly squeezed his hand, "It only seems appropriate to hold hands since we're now a couple." The gravity of their elevated relationship sent his heart fluttering in his chest and he squeezed her hand back as he averted his gaze with a heavy blush, getting a soft laugh from his new girlfriend. They stepped back onto the main street and resumed walking hand-in-hand.

They soon went back to talking casually as they walked. Paulie smiled and rubbed her hand with his thumb as he exhaled a puff of smoke. After visiting some stores, they came upon a rather tiny shop that sold little trinkets.

Tazz grinned and tugged him inside before she released his hand to begin looking around. He put his hand in his pocket along with his other and looked around and spotting a glass sphere with a black rose inside. He glanced at Tazz to make sure she wasn't looking before he grabbed the glass sphere and took it to the register and buying it.

Tazz looked over at Paulie and saw him buying something, though she couldn't see what it was. She turned her gaze back to what had caught her eye when they first entered the shop. It was a pair of matching necklaces with fine chains, one being gold with a sun pendant and the other silver with a crescent moon.

She took them to the register once Paulie walked away from it and she bought them before sticking them in her pocket. They left the shop and started walking home since they were getting tired from walking. When they arrived, Tazz gently grabbed Paulie's hand before he could turn to the door.

He looked at her with a raised brow and watched her dig around in her pocket before pulling out the two necklaces she had purchased at the shop. He blinked a bit when she held the gold sun necklace out to him, a light blush on her face. He smiled and took it, putting it around his neck and tucking the pendant into his shirt and watched her put on the silver moon one.

He then turned to the door and unlocked it before letting Tazz inside for and shutting the door behind him. He put his hand on her shoulder to turn her around as he reached in his own pocket and retrieved his own gift before holding it out to her. She smiled brightly and took it, staring at the black rose in fascination, "It's pretty..."

He blushed and looked away as he rubbed the back of his neck while muttering, "Not as pretty as you..." She looked up at him and blinked, "What was that?" He blushed darker and put out his cigar on a nearby ash tray, "N-Nothing..."

She smiled again and stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. That just made his face burn brighter and put a hand on his cheek as he kept his gaze elsewhere. Tazz trotted off to the bedroom to put the glass sphere on the nightstand, a pleased smile on her face.

Paulie let out a soft sigh as he watched her move away. He ran a hand through his hair and went into the living room before plopping on the couch, slinging his arms over the back and leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling, still in disbelief that he actually got someone to call a girlfriend. He was broken from his trance when Tazz sat next to him and kicked off her boots before bringing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

He watched her from the corner of his eye before swallowing and arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him. She blinked before looking up at him and smiling. She closed her eyes as she settled against him and they sat in peaceful silence.


	6. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Tazz and Paulie are dating, he decides to take her out to a nice dinner.

Tazz and Paulie sat on the couch talking about anything and everything that came to mind, only halting their conversation when their bellies rumbled. They laughed softly when they realized that they were so caught up in talking that they missed lunch. The blond looked over at her with a small blush, "Wanna go out to eat?"

Tazz nodded and smiled, "Let's go somewhere nice. It could be our first official date!" Paulie spluttered before calming down and nodding. She stood and gave him a smile, watching him stand up as well.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, "If we're gonna go somewhere nice, might as well dress nice too..." She smiled again and pecked his cheek before heading to the room, "I'll change in the bathroom." He followed behind and watched her try to hide her chosen outfit from him, making him arch a brow.

She grinned at him before heading into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaving Paulie alone in the bedroom.

He watched her disappear behind the door before he rubbed the back of his head with a small smile of his own. He felt content with their knew-found relationship and thought about how his life may turn out with Tazz in it. He began rummaging through his closest before pulling out a navy blue button-up and a pair of black slacks.

He briefly saw a vision of him hugging Tazz from behind, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly. He blushed and shook the thought from his head, deciding it to be better to think about that way later in their relationship. After taming his blush, he used his foot to shut the door before he began changing.

He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows before putting the necklace Tazz bought him around the collar in plain sight. He opened the door just as the bathroom door opened revealing Tazz dressed in a form fitting dark orange sweater with her own necklace around her neck and slim-fit black pants. He stared at her for a moment before blushing and looking away, "Looks nice..."

She smiled and looked him over, "Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." He rubbed the back of his neck before gesturing to the door, "Ready?" She nodded and started walking to the door with Paulie right behind.

Once they left the house, Paulie offered his arm to her with a blush and Tazz happily took it. They walked forward in a comfortable silence until they reached a rather high-class restaurant and Tazz blinked at it before looking at the blond, "This is a pretty fancy place..."

Paulie nodded and opened the door for her, "Well, it is our first official date. It's a given that it should be somewhere nice." She smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before entering. He rubbed his cheek where she kissed him and blushed before entering behind her.

After being seated, they ordered a bottle of wine and the house specialty for the both of them. While they waited, they made small talk and joked around a bit, sipping on the wine that arrived not too long after being ordered. To be honest, Paulie felt somewhat uncomfortable being in an classy place and he subtly tugged on the collar of his shirt but if it meant he got to see Tazz smile happily like she currently was, he'd do it all over again.

He took a sip of his wine before looking at the waiter when he returned with a fruity cocktail in hand. The waiter placed the drink in front of Tazz, who blinked before smiling sheepishly, "I...didn't order this..." The waiter gave her a reassuring smile and gesture to a rather greasy, pompous looking man who gave Tazz an unnerving smile that made her skin crawl, "It is from the gentleman right over there."

She thanked the waiter and looked at the drink uneasily. Paulie propped his chin in his hand, "You gonna drink it?" She sighed softly and picked up the glass, "I'd be crazy to refuse a free drink, but...that guy gives me the creeps..."

The blond watched her as she downed the drink before he looked at the greasy man from the corner of his eye, bristling and not liking the way the man's smile turned rather lecherous. Paulie waited for her to set the glass down before he stood and leaned over the table to put a hand on her cheek and tilt her head up. Tazz blinked up at him before her eyes widened when he pressed his lips to hers, even going so far as to nip her lower lip.

When he pulled back and sat back down, he saw that the creep had a displeased look on his face and seemed to give up on the pursuit of Tazz. He looked back at Tazz and saw her touching her fingers to her lips with a bright blush and he smirked, pleased with her reaction before fully realizing what he just did. He put his face in his hand as the tips of his ears burned, "S-Sorry...I didn't like the way that guy was looking at you and I wasn't thinking when I reacted..."

She smiled and reached across the table to take his hand, "It's fine. I actually liked it..." She rubbed her thumb across her hand and looked at the table, "Thank you for doing that..." He lightly squeezed her hand and scowled a bit as he looked at their hands, "That bastard should know better than to make a move on a lady when she's already with a guy..."

She smiled and looked at him, pleased with how eager he seemed to be to keep other men away from her. She squeezed his hand back before releasing it and leaning back as the food arrived. She smiled brightly at the large steaks with a side of greens and a potato.

She thanked the waiter before looking at Paulie who was taking a sip of his wine when he saw her watching him. He set his glass aside and took the bottle that was left at their table and refilling Tazz's glass before his own, "Need something?" She smiled and shook her head, "No. I really appreciate this..."

He blushed and shrugged as he looked down at the table as he rubbed his neck, "N-No need to thank me...Since we're dating now, I should be able to spoil you every now and then..." She chuckled softly and picked up her silverware, "Still, I appreciate it." They started eating in relating silence.

After a bit, Paulie looked up at her, "By the way, I have work tomorrow. You don't have to go with me so you can sleep in if you want." She looked up at him with her fork in her mouth before she smiled and nodded. They returned to eating and finished off the bottle of wine before Paulie insisted on paying the tab.

Once they left the restaurant, Paulie took Tazz's hand as they began walking back to his house. She sighed happily as she smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder, "This was nice..." He glanced down at her before smiling and looking back ahead, "Yeah. It was..."

They finally got back home and entered, both of them yawning a bit. Paulie went into his room first and grabbed his pajamas before heading into the bathroom to change as Tazz stayed in the bedroom. She stripped off her clothes before putting them with the dirty laundry and slipping her pajamas on.

She started getting in bed when the door opened to reveal Paulie who had forgone his tank top and just wore his pajama pants since he figured there was no longer a need for it since Tazz was no longer a stranger. He entered the room and noticed her staring at him with wide eyes and a blush. He quirked a brow as he walked over to his side of the bed, "What?"

She snapped out of her daze and shook her head, "I-It's nothing..." Paulie hummed skeptically as he slid under the covers as Tazz turned off the lamp. He let out a yawn before pulling her back against him with only a small blush since he was growing more confident around her.

On the contrary, Tazz's ears burned as she felt his toned chest and stomach against her back and she covered her face with her hands even though she knew he couldn't see her blush. After a moment, she heard is breathing even out and she relaxed with a soft sigh. She smiled softly and closed her eyes, lacing her fingers with his on the hand that was against her belly before she fell asleep.


	7. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone Tazz wasn't expecting to see arrives at Water Seven.

The next morning, Paulie woke with a groan and buried his face in the mess of hair in front of him. He took a deep breath and smelt a faint trace of vanilla. He pulled the woman further against him and sighed softly before opening his eyes to see her familiar fluffy black hair.

He watched the back of her head for a moment, confirming she was still asleep before he slowly slipped away and got out of bed. He stood there for a moment, just observing her before he gathered his clothes and opened the door, going across the hall to the bathroom to change. When he finished, he went back into the bedroom and leaned down over her, pressing his lips to her forehead before straightening up and heading out to the door.

He shut the door behind him and sighed softly, deciding to grab a coffee and something to eat on the way to work. After clocking in and working for a while, he ignored the pirate captain that was rambling on next to him as he marked a plank of wood. After a moment, Paulie looked up at the pirate just as a sword was brought to his neck, "You're interrupting our work."

He looked back down and continued marking the wood as the pirate and his crew laughed loudly. When the pirate declared that he wasn't going to pay for the repairs, Paulie warned him, "Sir, it'd be wise not to tease craftsmen like that." His warning came too late as a large piece of lumber slammed into the back of the pirate's head as the man carrying the wood turned. 

The pirate fell to the ground and his crew drew arms while the man that hit the captain gave a weightless apology. Right after, a man with a baseball cap and long, square nose came from the air with a large saw and attacked a crew member with a measly, "Pardon me." A few other shipwrights began their attack and the whole thing ended with a cannonball that hit the pirates.

Paulie and some others stood next to the incapacitated pirates and he stared down at them, "The pirate way of doing things doesn't work on craftsmen's turf, now does it?" Afterwards, they began transporting the unconscious pirates away before returning to work. Paulie sighed and began walking when he heard his name being shouted.

He turned to see who called him and he blanched when he saw three debt collectors running towards him. He immediately turned back around and began running, eventually going over a bridge as two Yagara bulls with members of the Franky Family went under, "I'm saying, wait a bit longer!" One of the debt collecters yelled at him as they all continued running, "Pay back the money!"

He turned his head back, "Like I said, I don't have the money today." The three debt collectors kept chasing him, "That's not gonna cut it!" Paulie scowled and grumbled to himself, "They're really persistent!"

He glanced down and saw the two Yagara bulls passing under the bridge, "Hmm? This is perfect! I see Yagara bulls!" He vaulted over the side of the bridge before making some rope appear from his sleeves, "Sorry, but I'd like to borrow one of your Yagaras for a bit!" He wrapped the ropes around the four Franky Family members before yanking on his end, smashing them against each other.

He released them and retracted the ropes into his sleeves before landing on one of the Yagaras, escaping the debt collectors to who he waved, "Well then, everyone, take care! Let's run together again!" He scratched the top of his head as he looked at the Yagara, "Seriously...You came at just the right time!" He heard more shouting and looked back, "Oi, thanks! That money belongs to us!" 

He saw Iceburg and Kalifa standing next to a long-nosed boy with wavy hair, a boy with a straw hat and a scar under his eye, and an orange-haired young woman. He blinked before looking back in the boat, "What? money?" He saw two briefcases sitting on the floor of the boat, "Oh, this..."

His cigar fell from his mouth as he gasped and smiled ecstatically. Paulie ignored the boy as he called out once more and kept going. All of a sudden, Lucci appeared on the Yagara and grabbed the blond by the ear as he turned the bull around.

Paulie hissed in pain and grabbed Lucci's hand to try to loosen his grip, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Hey, hey, let me go! What the hell are you doing?!" He scowled and winced again when Lucci tightened his hold, "I won't run! I'm saying I got it, aren't I?!" He glared at the other man and smacked his hand away, "Let go of my ear!"

He put his hands on his ear and grumbled, "Here I was lucky enough to find a lot of money and now...! You'll regret this, Lucci!" Hattori looked at Paulie with a disappointed expression, "Don't pay back your debts with someone else's money, you fool!" Paulie bristled as he looked at the pigeon, "I found this money!"

Hattori crossed his wings, "You're still saying that?! Coo, coo!" Paulie glowered at the man and pigeon, "It just happened to be on the Yagara that I borrowed!" On the walkway, Iceburg smiled, "They're back." 

The boy with the straw hat smiled in relief, "Well, I'm happy for you Usopp!" The boy named Usopp grabbed the other boy's cheek and pulled, stretching it unnaturally far, "You talk like it was someone else's problem! It was our 200 million Berries!" The orange-haired young woman grabbed his other cheek and pulled as well, "That's right! Why the hell weren't you the first one to go get it back?!"

The boy pointed at Hattori and Lucci, "But that pigeon said he'd go." Iceburg placed his pet mouse in his jacket pocket before looking up at the others, "Well...I'm sorry. Please let us take care of our idiot coworker, as if you guys were to capture him, it would create bitter feelings." Kalifa adjusted her glasses, "Well, please excuse him. Consider it good that the money wasn't stolen by the Franky Family."

Lucci grabbed Paulie's ear once more when the Yagara neared the walkway and the blond grabbed his wrist again as they stepped off, "We brought him over, Iceburg-san." Paulie winced and used both hands to try to pry Lucci's hand from his ear, "You're doing it again! You're hurting my ear!" Iceburg folded his arms over his chest as he looked at the two, "Thanks, Lucci."

Nearby, a black-haired woman was strolling around, having gotten bored at home and decided to go for a walk. She had walked a good distance and ended up close to Dock #1. She paused in her steps when she heard what sounded like Paulie shouting before she started jogging in the direction of the noise.

She got up on the bridge and froze when she saw a familiar straw hat on a walkway and two more familiar people. She looked closer and saw Iceburg and Lucci holding Paulie's ear. She quietly ran over to the other side and hopped down from the bridge.

Back to the group, Hattori spoke up, "We're sorry that that idiot caused you trouble." The boy with the straw hat looked astonished, "Ahh! He spoke again!" Lucci tossed Paulie to the ground in front of the three strangers as Hattori spoke, "Now apologize to them, Paulie!"

Lucci threw the two briefcases at Paulie and the blond stood and turned to the three, "Hey, you're the owner of the money?" He walked over and practically shoved the cases into the arms of the boy with the straw hat, "I picked them up for you." The boy grinned and took them, "Oh, thanks!"

Paulie put his hands on the boy's shoulders and leaned close, "If you wanna thank me, give me 10%." He paused for a moment and looked closer at the boy's face, "You look like someone I know-" He was cut off as a hammer made contact with the back of his head and he fell to his knees, clutching his head.

Lucci looked at the boy as Hattori spoke, "Sorry, mister. This guy racked up a gambling debt, so he's greedy and has no manners." Paulie held his head, "You bastard! You're really running your mouth, Lucci!" Paulie released some rope from his sleeve, "I won't take it anymore!"

He stood and threw the rope towards Lucci before making it tie in a bowline knot around the man's arm. He grabbed the rope tighter and swung around towards the ground, launching Lucci in the air to slam into the ground in a cloud of dust. He smirked as he thought that he had finally won against Lucci before scowling when the dust cleared, revealing Lucci standing on his hand with his fingers dug into the ground.

The straw hat boy took a few steps closer and pointed at Paulie, "Oi, you with the goggles!" Paulie looked over as he retracted the rope into his sleeve, "Hm?" Without thinking, the boy began to speak, "Hey, think about it carefully. The one who mocked or provoked you was the pigeon!"

Paulie clenched his fists before pointing at Lucci, "That's fine! The one who hit me was Lucci!" The odd boy put his hands on his hips, "The pigeon can't hit you himself, so he had that guy hit you!" The boy looked at the pigeon and scolded him for not fighting for himself.

Lucci hopped back on his feet and Hattori landed on his shoulder before he cooed. Paulie pushed up his sleeves and stomped over, "Oh, you wanna fight? Bring it on, you bastard!"

Iceburg sighed, "Stop it, Paulie." Lucci turned back towards the other three, "Coo, coo. Well, sorry for the fuss." Hattori held a wing out before pointing at himself, "I'm Rob L- No, I mean, Hattori the pigeon."

The bird then pointed at Lucci, "And this is Rob Lucci. He works here. Nice to meet you. Coo coo!" The young woman stared at the bird, "Oh? He almost introduced himself as if he were a human!" She gasped before pointing at the bird, "A-ha! Yeah, I got it! That's ventriloquism, isn't it?!"

The two boys started clapping and complementing Lucci, who tried to politely decline. Paulie laughed and puffed his cigar, "He's a weirdo who can't talk to people properly!" Right after saying that, he blushed and pointed at the young woman, "You're shameless!"

She just looked at him, puzzled by his sudden statement. He scowled, "You're showing your legs too much! This is a workplace for men! Look how you're dressed!" He started walking towards her and Kalifa got in his way to try to calm him down.

His eyes bugged as he saw her clothing and Lucci grabbed his wrist to hold him back, "You, too, Kalifa! You haven't learned your lesson and are wearing such outrageous clothes again! How many times do I have to tell you?! Wear pants! Long pants!" The sound of pounding footsteps made a few of them look back behind the three strangers, only seeing a blur of black and orange. The only one that was unaware of the approaching figure was the straw hat boy.

A pair of black combat boots slammed into the back of his head with great force, making his eyes bug a bit before he skidded forward, sliding a few feet on his face with his legs in the air before his knees hit the ground. Before he could right himself, a familiar voice reached his ears, "What do we have here? Lu, are you causing trouble?" Once it clicked at who the voice belonged to, he jumped up and spun around with a wide grin, "Big sis!"

They all looked at the black-haired woman as Luffy quickly ran over her and jumped on her in a hug, wrapping his arms and legs around her. Paulie blinked at Tazz before pointing at the boy latched on to her, "This is your brother?"

She smiled and nodded, patting Luffy's back, "Yeah." Luffy nuzzled against Tazz with a huge smile before looking up at her, "Hey, hey! Are you gonna keep your promise?" She looked down at him before moving her gaze to Paulie who looked fairly puzzled.

She looked back down at her brother and nodded with a soft sigh, "Yeah..." The boy grinned wider and hugged her more, "Yay!" Luffy finally released her as Iceburg spoke, "Well, that's it. Let's open the door and go inside already."

After the pirates marveled at how Lucci and Paulie were able to open the tremendous gate with just the two of them, they walked through. Paulie walked up to where Tazz had been lagging behind and he noticed the rather sullen look on her face. He nudged her lightly and tilted his head down to look at her face, "Something wrong?"

She looked up at him before sighing and rubbing the back of her neck, "It's just...the promise I made my brother..." He blinked and lightly held her hand, "What was the promise?" She squeezed his hand a bit and kept her gaze on the ground, "When I last saw him, he made me promise that I'd join his crew the next time we met."

He furrowed his brows and stopped walking, making her hang back as well, "You're...leaving?" She bit her bottom lip and brought his hand to her cheek, "I don't really want to, though, since I met you. But it's not like I can just break my promise to him..." Paulie stayed silent for a moment before letting out some smoke in a sigh and wrapping his arms around her, "I understand..." 

He removed his cigar from his mouth before placing a kiss on the top of her head. He pulled back and tipped her chin up to look at him as he smiled, "I'll give you a transponder snail before you go." She returned the smile and quickly tiptoed to kiss him on the lips before trotting to rejoin the others. 

Paulie watched her before shaking his head with a smile and returning to the group. When Tazz caught back up, Usopp walked next to her, "Hey, Tazz? Why did you kiss him?" She blinked before smiling and putting her hands in the pockets of her cargo shorts, "He's my boyfriend." 

The whole group paused as Nami and Usopp stared at her in shock, "EH?!" She smiled and took Paulie's hand when he reached them, making him blush lightly, "Yep." Iceburg rubbed his chin with a small smile, "I was wondering when it'd happen." 

After taking in the news, the group resumed walking. Kalifa explained about how the craftsmen respected Iceburg before stopping when she saw Luffy smacking the blue-haired man's back. Tazz and Usopp held Paulie back while Nami held Kalifa. 

Tazz sweatdropped and rubbed Paulie's back, "Don't mind him. That's just how my brother is." Paulie grumbled and looked down at her, "I'm glad you aren't like that." She chuckled and took his hand once more, "I used to be."

The two looked up when they heard something falling before Paulie saw that it was Kaku. He put his free hand on his hip when the man landed and started walking forward, "Hm? Kaku...Where have you been?" The man stopped walking, "An assessment." 

Kaku blinked when he saw Paulie's hand holding another and he followed the arm to a pretty young woman with pitch black hair. Kaku looked to Paulie and pointed at their conjoined hands, "What's that about?" The blond looked down and blushed when he remembered that he was still holding Tazz's hand, "What's it look like? I'm holding my girlfriend's hand."

Kaku grinned, "Got yourself a girlfriend, huh?" Paulie nodded before Nami spoke up, "Ah! You're the guy from earlier! So you checked our ship?" He looked at her, "Yeah, I did."

He noticed Iceburg and looked over at him, "So you were here, Iceburg-san." The bluenette looked at him, "I know the situation. How was it." Kaku turned to face him fully, "Well..."

Nami called Luffy to come down and the boy jumped down, landing in front of her before he looked around, "Where's Usopp?" A man carrying two of the briefcases walked over and returned them before leaving. Luffy turned back to the others, "So how much does it look like it'll cost?"


	8. Assessment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaku reveals the results from his assessment and Nami and Luffy find out their money was stolen. Tazz is worried about her brother but Paulie reassures her.

Luffy patted each of the cases as a serious-faced Kaku sat on a pile of lumber, "We can pay as much as you like! We've got tons of money!" The boy began talking about the improvements he wanted and Nami threw in her requests as well. Luffy then talked about how he wanted a huge bronze statue when Kaku interrupted him, "Well, hold on a sec...You've been having some tremendous journeys, haven't you?"

Luffy held up a fist, "Oh, yeah! We flew up in the sky, and fell as well. We climbed a mountain and got skewered. We've gone through quite a bit! So we'd like to have her fixed good!" Kaku stayed silent and Luffy frowned, "I'm not lying, you know." Kaku still looked rather sullen and looked at them, "I believe it. Her scars from battle are too deep."

Nami frowned, "Do you mean it'll take quite a long time to fix her?" He kept a hard stare, "No. Frankly speaking, your ship...can no longer be fixed, even with our skills." Nami and Luffy stared at him in shock.

Paulie released Tazz's hand and walked over to the pile of lumber before sitting and taking his cigar out of his mouth, blowing the smoke out with his eyes closed. Tazz walked over and sat next to him, looking at him with soft eyes. Paulie looked over at Kaku with his arm draped over his leg with his cigars between his fingers. He put his other hand over Tazz's, "Is her keel damaged or something?"

The long-nosed man replied, "Yeah, it's taken a lot of damage." Nami stared in disbelief, "Oh, no...But we've been traveling just fine up until today!" Kaku looked at her, "Let's suppose that we did what we could anyway. The probability of her reaching the next island is...zero."

Luffy stared in shock at Kaku before frowning, "You can't fix the Merry?! Why not?! Aren't you guys amazing shipwrights?!" He patted the briefcases once more, "If you're worried about money, look! We've got tons!" Tazz frowned and turned her hand up to hold Paulie's as she grew worried for her brother.

Kaku spoke up once more, "It has nothing to do with money." Nami and Luffy both looked over at him as he continued speaking, "No matter how much you pay, that ship can't be restored to how she used to be. I'm rather impressed that you guys made it this far in the state she's in." Nami frowned before speaking, "What do you mean?! What's going on with Merry?!"

Paulie put his cigar back in his mouth as he looked at Nami, "Do you know what a keel is, shameless girl?" She sweatdropped at the name, "The one at the bottom of the ship?" Paulie lightly squeezed Tazz's hand, "That's right. It's the most important wood beam on a ship. It crosses from stem to stern and supports the ship. When you build a ship, you start off by placing the keel. Then the stem wood, stern wood, frame wood, frame brackets and deck beams. We accurately place all those pieces of wood around the keel. That's how a ship is built. The keel is the very foundation of a ship's framework. It's the essence of the ship. It's not something you can just replace if it takes on a lot of damage. Replacing the keel is the same as building a ship from scratch. So no one can fix her anymore. Your ship is just a collection of wood that can only await her end." 

Nami furrowed her brows, "Hey! Don't say it like that!" Paulie closed his eyes, "Not my problem. That's the truth." Tazz looked at him with a small frown before looking at Luffy when he speaks, "Then...Then build a ship from scratch for us! Build the Going Merry!" 

This time, it was Hattori that spoke up, lifting a wing as he did so, "Coo coo! That's not possible, either." Luffy clenched his fists, "Why not?!" Hattori put his wing down, "We can build a similar ship, but strictly speaking, no one can build the same ship. In this world, there are no two ships that are exactly the same." Nami looked at Lucci, "What do you mean?!"

Hattori raised a brow, "Are there any trees in the world that grow exactly the same way? Sailing ships are mostly made of wood, so the size and curves of the ship are all affected by the shape of the trees. That's why an exact duplicate of the ship can't be built. For example, even if we build such a ship, without a doubt, the ones who would feel that it's a totally different ship...would be you guys! Coo coo!" Nami clenched her fist, "Oh, no...Then can we really no longer travel on the Going Merry?" Kaku responded, "That's right. You either do nothing and wait until she sinks...or you take her apart quickly."

Iceburg steps in now, "Well...your ship stands on her last legs. This is a good opportunity. Just give up and buy a new ship here. You've got money, right? I heard that your ship is a caravel. To start with, your journeys will be tough on such an old-style ship." Tazz sighed softly when she looked back to her brother to see that his hat shadowed his eyes, "No...I don't intend to get a new ship. Our...Our ship is the Going Merry! If she's repaired, she can still sail! It'll be fine! Today, too, she sailed here comfortably! And yet, we're suddenly told that she can't sail anymore...? How can we believe that?! You guys're saying that because you don't know how strong she is!" Tazz frowned and put Paulie's hand in her lap and held on to it with both hands as she looked down.

She lightly bit her lip and closed her eyes when Luffy turned to her, "Big sis, say something!" She looked up at him with a saddened look, "I...As much as you might not like hearing it, Luffy, I would listen to them...They are professionals." Luffy's face fell at her words and he took a step back, shocked that she wouldn't take his side for once. Iceburg used his finger to pet his mouse, "Will you be satisfied if you keep sailing on her until she sinks? Good grief...And you call yourself a ship's captain?"

Luffy's mouth trembled and he clenched his fist as Iceburg looked away, "Our discussion is over for now. Think about it carefully. If you decide to buy a ship, come again. I'll help you. If you give us your 300 million, we can even build a state-of-the-art ship for you." He turned his head to his secretary, "Kalifa!" She took a book and held it out, "Yes. Please give it a thought. This is a catalog that contains both new and used models. Please use it as a price reference." 

A man with a piece of hair sticking up approached the group, "Iceburg-san! There's someone at the gate who wants to see you." Iceburg looked to Kalifa as she looked through the schedule, "I don't see any appointments, though." Lulu put his hands on his hips, "Looks like that World Government Official is here again. Shall I turn him away?"

Iceburg raised a hand, "Well...yeah... Tell him I'm out. Anyway, you've got quite a case of bed head, Lulu." Lulu raises his hand to the piece of hair sticking up, "Oops. Pardon me." He pushed the strand down only for it to pop up on the other side, "Well then, I'll ask him to leave.

Iceburg watched the strand switch sides, "Y-Yeah, would you?" A new voice spoke up, "Hold it, Iceburg-kun." He and Lulu looked behind the latter to see three men in suits approaching, the one in the middle being the speaker, "So you're around." 

Paulie looked at Nami and Luffy, "Hey, you guys, hide! It's a government official!" The two hid behind the pile of lumber as Paulie pushed Tazz behind him, silently thanking Kaku for moving closer to hide her from view. Iceburg watched the official walk up, "Well...Hi, Corgy. I'm not around today."

The official named Corgy frowned, "Yes, you are! Seriously, I've come all the way here by sea train. Please don't refuse me." The man paused and sniffed the air before smirking, "I somehow detect the scent of pirates." Tazz shivered and curled up against Paulie's back as she gripped his jacket.

Corgy chuckled before looking back at Iceburg, "Well, that's okay. In any case, I want to talk to you." Iceburg folded his arms over his chest, "I hate you! Go home!" The official stared at the tall man, "Are you a child?"

The blue-haired man picked his nose with his pinky, "I'm a fully grown man." Corgy cleared his throat into his fist, "Well, please don't be obstinate. I've brought a good deal for you today. Give me a chance to explain. Now let's go somewhere inconspicuous." Iceburg and Kalifa then walked off with the official and his men.

Kaku slid away from Paulie and he pulled Tazz out from behind him. Lulu stared at the woman from behind his sunglasses, "Who's this?" Kaku grinned and looked over at his blond friend, "That's Paulie's new girlfriend~!"

Lulu hummed before nodding his head, "It's nice to meet you, miss." She returned the gesture, "You too..." Paulie put his hand on his knee as he watched the other group walk away, "They keep coming back. How persistent...What business do they have with Iceburg-san?"

Hattori raised a wing, "It has nothing to do with us. It must be something to do with power. Coo coo." Lulu tried to tame the stubborn strand of hair once more, "Shall I go beat them up?" Kaku kept his gaze on the ground, "Don't. They're from the World Government." 

Suddenly, Nami and Luffy screamed, making Paulie frown and jump up before running around the lumber, "You idiots! What's the big fuss?!" His eyes bugged and he pointed at Nami, "Hey, woman! If you sit like that...!" Tazz stood up and walked over next to him with a slight pout, "Paulie, if you keep pointing out how women dress, I'm gonna get jealous."

He looked over at her, "S-Sorry...Habit." They looked back over to the other two pirates as Nami exclaimed, "On closer inspection, they're not our bags!" Luffy let out another short scream, "Wh-Wh-Wh-What're we going to do?! Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh..."

Lucci walked around with a hand on his hip, Hattori speaking as usual, "Hey, what are you guys shouting so loud for?" Nami and Luffy turned white as the boy muttered, "Our money is...gone." Nami mumbled after, "It's...totally...gone."

Paulie's eyes widened, "What?!" Hattori raised his wing at the blond, "Paulie! Did you..." Paulie turned to the other man, "It's not me!" 

The pigeon gave him a disbelieving look, "Are you telling the truth?!" Paulie glared at him, "Why would I lie?!" The bird continued, "Is that really true?!"

They bickered back and forth as Lulu and Kaku watched, "How noisy... More importantly, Kaku. Weren't you with the Franky Family earlier?" Kaky looked at the tall man, "Hm? What're you talking about? I haven't seen the Franky Family today." Lulu put his hand over his mouth, "That's strange. I'm sure I saw your long nose."

Nami peeked around the corner of the lumber pile, "Hold on a sec, you guys!" Nami and Luffy realize that the person Lulu saw was Usopp. Lulu continued to futilely push at his bedhead and it poked out from his moustache, "He was with them, or rather, he was carried away by them. 

Nami scowled, "That's an abduction! Luffy! We have to go look for him right away!" Right as the words left her mouth, Luffy took off sprinting, "Okay!" She shouted after him, "Hey! Hold on a sec! Where're you gonna look, Luffy?!"

Nami sighed before turning to Paulie, "Hey, where's the Franky Family's hideout?" Paulie turned to face her, "It's more like a workshop rather than a hideout, but it's at the seashore quite a ways northwest from the rocky cape where your ship is anchored. It's called Franky House." Nami then ran off to try to catch up to Luffy.

Tazz sighed softly and rubbed her neck, making Paulie look over at her, "Something wrong?" She looked at the ground with a small frown, "I'm worried about Luffy...I want him to give up on the Going Merry, but I understand his feelings. She's his first ship and has been with him since he only had Nami, Zoro, and Usopp. He's too stubborn for his own good...." Paulie put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, "I'm sure he'll figure something out sooner or later. No need for you to worry about it right now." 

She looked up at him and smiled softly, "Thanks, Paulie." He nodded and wrapped his other arm around her in a full hug before kissing the top of her head. Kaku grinned at the two, "Aw~! Look at the cute couple!"

Paulie blushed brightly and turned his head to glare at the man as he tightened his arms around Tazz, "S-Shut up!" She giggled softly and hugged him back, nuzzling his chest with a soft sigh. She remembered something and looked over at Kaku, "By the way, thank you for helping hide me."

He smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I'd hate to see the woman who can actually handle Paulie's hotheadedness and prudish tendencies get taken away." Paulie scoffed and leaned his chin on the top of her head, still blushing, "I'd kick the bucket before I let that happen." She hummed happily as she grasped the back of his jacket, smiling as she listened to his heartbeat.


	9. Emergency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emergency comes up and raises tensions.

After finishing work for the day with Tazz hanging around, Paulie took her hand and started heading home with her. She squeezed his hand with a soft sigh, "I hope my brother and his friends are okay...Usopp loves that ship and I'm sure he'd do anything to keep her, even if it's reckless..." Paulie looked down at her with soft eyes, "I'm sure they'll figure something out."

She gave him a weak smile and he sighed softly, using his free hand to remove his cigar before bringing Tazz's hand in his to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. She smiled more genuinely and leaned against him as they walked. When they got home, they both entered before going their separate ways, Tazz to the kitchen to make a quick dinner and Paulie to the bedroom to change.

He took a bit longer than usual to change since he was thinking about what Tazz had said earlier about the promise she had made to her brother. He frowned and sat on the bed, staring at the floor. A knock on the doorway brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Tazz, "Paulie, dinner's ready."

He nodded and stood, making his way over before stopping and looking down at her. She blinked up at him and tilted her head, "What is it?" He let out a breath and stooped down to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

He pulled back and saw her blush that most likely matched his own and he inwardly smiled before heading to the kitchen with Tazz following behind. He saw plates of fried rice put at the table and he sat down. After she took her place, Paulie reached over the small table and put a hand over one of hers, prompting her to look at him as he spoke, "Thanks...for always cooking, that is..."

She smiled softly and shook her head, "No need to thank me. I enjoy cooking for you." He blushed lightly and started eating, hand still over hers. After eating dinner, Tazz went to change before they both got in bed.

Paulie pulled Tazz against him like he had the previous night and he curled around her a bit, tangling their legs together. She lightly rubbed the forearm that was across her stomach as she closed her eyes. They both fell asleep rather quickly and slept soundly through the night.

Once morning arrived, Paulie yawned as he got out of bed. After getting changed sans his jacket and goggles, he had gone to the kitchen to make some coffee when he heard his transponder snail ringing. Tazz grumbled and rolled over to his side of the bed, blindly reaching for the snail and picking up the receiver as she propped herself on her elbow, yawning before answering with her speech a bit slurred from sleep, "Yes?"

Paulie started making his way back to his room when he heard Tazz, "Paulie! For you!" He entered the room and saw her holding it out to him as she sat up, "It's sounds urgent..." He took the receiver and sat down after Tazz scooted back over to her side, placing his lit cigar on the ashtray on the small bedside table, "Paulie here."

At the words that came through the transponder snail's mouth, his eyes went wide and he heard Tazz gasp behind him, "Iceburg-san was shot at his home?!" He slammed a hand against the table, jarring the cigar and making some ash fall, "Hey! Don't be silly! Was he killed?!" Tazz moved over to him, putting a hand on his back as the voice on the other end responded, "Well, hey!"

Paulie continued, sweat dripping down his temple, "He isn't someone who makes enemies of people!" The person on the other end cut in, "Hold on a sec! Calm down, Paulie! Listen to me. Look, Iceburg-san was found covered in blood in his room this morning. He's still in a coma, so he's unconscious right now. In any case, come to the main office immediately!" Paulie shook as he hung up the transponder snail.

She frowned and wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned against his back and tilted her head against his. Paulie let out a shaky breath, lightly grasping one of her arms and squeezing a bit as if to make sure that it was real. She pressed her lips to his temple, "Do you want me to go with you?"

He nodded and gently pried her arms away from him before turning and taking her face in his hands, "Y-Yeah...It would be appreciated." She smiled reassuringly and put her hands over his as he leaned in and kissed her. He pulled back with one last peck to her lips before standing.

Tazz stood as well and grabbed a black muscle shirt and her shorts, tossing them on the bed before she started taking off her clothes. Paulie burned bright red and covered his eyes, "W-W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" She rolled her eyes and put on a black sports bra before pulling her shirt over her head, "What's it look like? I'm changing."

He kept his eyes covered and felt the tips of his ears burn, "COULDN'T YOU HAVE AT LEAST WAITED UNTIL I LEFT THE ROOM?!" She pulled her shorts up and put on her belt before buckling, "Not enough time." He grumbled and grabbed his jacket and put his goggles on his head before grabbing his cigar from the ashtray, "Ready?"

She tied her bandanna around her neck before nodding, "Yeah." They then left his home and quickly went to a bull rental shop. Paulie picked up Tazz bridal style, making her let out a startled squeak, and hopped on the Yagara before speeding away, "Who the hell did it?! I'm not gonna let him get away with it!"

Tazz clung to him, trying to anchor herself down from the speed they were going and he wrapped an around around her, holding her against him as he scowled. Once they arrived, Paulie picked her up once more and set her on the walkway before stepping out of the boat. The reporters all swarmed around him as he walked with Tazz right by his side.

He kept his gaze on the ground as he walked, ignoring the flashing cameras, "Shup up. Get out of my way." One reporter recognized the woman next to him, "Paulie-san! Why is the pirate Monkey D. Tazz, better known as Black-Fire Tazz, with you?" He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him as he glared at the reporter as he continued walking.

Another reporter came up to him and followed close by, "What explanation did your company give you?" Another popped up, "Please give us a statement!" He scowled and kept his eyes forward, "Are you deaf? I told you to get out of my way!"

Upon further prodding by the reporters, Paulie finally had enough, "I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY! YOU DUMBASSES!" The reporters all took a step away from the couple as a boundary of black flames created a path in front of Paulie, making him look at his girlfriend to see an ice-cold glare on her face and her voice sent a chill down his spine, "Didn't you hear the man? It'd be in your best interest to listen to him."

The two continued walking down the path of flames until they were finally able to enter the building, leaving the reporters to mutter to themselves about Paulie and Tazz's relationship. Once the doors shut, the blond heaved a sigh and took Tazz's hand, "Thanks..." She smiled and squeezed his hand, "Don't worry about it. I was getting pretty annoyed, too."

All of the sudden, a siren sounded over the whole island and Tazz looked at Paulie, "What's that about?" He glanced down at her, "It must be an Aqua Laguna warning." She blinked at him, "Aqua Laguna? What's that?"

He rubbed his neck, "It's a storm surge that submerges part of the island. It happens every year around this time." She hummed and squeezed his hand when they got to Kaku and Lulu. the latter looked at the two, "Paulie. You're here. And you brought your girlfriend. Was she the one that answered the transponder snail?"

Paulie exhaled some smoke before nodding, "Yeah. It woke her up when I was out of the room." Lulu stared at him, "So she was sleeping in your bed..." Paulie blushed lightly and grumbled, putting his hands on his hips, "Why wouldn't she? She lives with me."

Lulu gave him a thumbs-up, "Nice." The blond blushed more, "S-Shut up!" Tazz smiled softly and put her arm around his waist as he put his over her shoulder.

Right after that exchange, Iceburg's secretary entered the hallway, "Everyone..." Paulie looked over at her, "Kalifa..." She walked closer and adjusted her glasses, "Please enter the room...quietly."

Paulie's eyes widened a bit, "What...? Then..." Kalifa looked like she had been crying and she teared up again, "Iceburg-san has...just regained consciousness." All three men let out a relieved 'Good!" and Kaku stood, "That's excellent news!"

They all filed quietly into the room, Paulie holding Tazz's hand, rubbing the back with his thumb. He released her hand to go sit in the chair next to Iceburg's bed, "Iceburg-san!" Tazz put her hand on his shoulder and he grinned at the man on the bed.

The injured man stared up at the ceiling, "Well...Sorry for making you worry." Paulie just kept grinning, "In any case, I'm glad you're alive! Please focus on resting up! We'll take care of the stuff at the shipyard." Iceburg kept his gaze glued on the ceiling, "By the way, about the culprits that broke into my room last night..."

Paulie's smile dropped, "Er...they're still investigating." Iceburg cut in, "Well, I remember it. There were two. One was a big man with a mask on. The other was...a tall woman with long, black hair. There's no mistake about it. Those black eyes belong to..." Tazz kept her hand on Paulie's shoulder, lightly squeezing it as the description of the woman seemed familiar.

He looked up at her and took her hand. After learning that the culprit was one of the crew from the Straw Hats, Paulie looks back at the others, "One of the Straw Hats, you say? Is that true?" Kalifa adjusted her glasses, "Yes. My own investigation led to the same culprit. I just had Lucci confirm it with the government. Then..."

Hattori raised his wings, "Coo coo! Yeah... When I contacted the government, they said that she's one of the Straw Hats. Coo coo!" Tazz held Paulie's hand tighter as she bit her bottom lip, staring at the ground. Kaku crossed his arms, "Then...they, the Straw Hats, are the culprits."

Lulu growled and his shoulders shook in anger, "What the hell?! Did they do it to get back at us since we wouldn't fix their ship?!" Tazz squeezed Paulie's hand before releasing it spin around to face Lulu with her brows knitted, "T-They can't be! They aren't the kind of people that would just attack someone for such a petty reason! Think about it! Why would they attack the man that tried to help them?" Paulie grabbed her wrist and looked at her with stern expression, "Tazz. It's been confirmed that it was one of the Straw Hats that shot Iceburg-san. That much is a fact."

She looked at him and her bottom lip trembled before she bit it and looked down, making her hair shadow her eyes to hide the growing tears, "It can't be them...It just can't be..." Paulie gently tugged her sideways into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her arm as he put his chin on her head with a sigh. Kaku kept his eyes ahead, "Hard to say. But no matter the reason, the truth is that they did it."

Paulie hugged her a bit tighter, "We can ask them the reason after we tie them up. I don't know what you have to say, but you'll pay for this, Straw Hat!" Tazz stiffened and removed his arms from around her, making him blink at her as she got off of his lap. His eyes widened when he saw the tears in her eyes and she clenched her fists, "It wasn't Luffy! He'd never bare ill will against someone unless they hurt his friends! He's just not that kind of person!"

He reached out to her, "Tazz..." She stepped out of his range, looking at him with an anguished expression before running to the door and exiting the room, slamming the door behind her. Paulie just stared at the door as an awkward silence filled the room before he sighed and stood, rubbing the back of his head as he walked to the door and left the room.

He found Tazz sitting on the floor of the hall, her face tucked into her knees with her arms wrapped around them. He let out a sigh of smoke and sat next to her. The sniffling and soft sobbing made his chest tighten.

They sat there for a moment before Paulie slipped his arm between her back and the wall and put his other under her legs, picking her up a bit and putting her back in his lap as he hugged her, "Sorry...It's just, with the information that we have, it's hard not to suspect your brother. Especially since we aren't familiar with him like you are." He sighed softly and took his cigar from his mouth before burying his face in her hair, "It's just...I'm angry that Iceburg-san was hurt and almost killed. From what you say about the kind of person your brother is, the culprit was probably acting on her own or maybe it was because of the masked man with her..."

Tazz sniffled and leaned her side against him, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, "I had a hard time trusting Robin, but I'm still in disbelief that she did this..." Paulie hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head, "I'm sure we'll find out why sooner or later. But just to be sure, we still have to ask the rest of your brother's crew. I promise not to hurt any of them, okay?" She nodded slowly before Paulie put his hand on her cheek, tilting her head up to look at him.

He leaned down and kissed away the rest of her tears before kissing her sweetly. When he pulled back, he slid his arms under her legs and back again before picking her up and standing, making her blush lightly and pout a bit, "Do you really have to do this?" He kissed her forehead, "I want to, now hush."

He walked back to the room and leaned her against him so he could open the door before walking in carrying Tazz. The others looked to him, surprised that he was being so affectionate, and they got a glower in return before he went back to his seat and sat with her still in his arms. He rubbed her back as he leaned back in his chair, "We'll get everything figured out..."


	10. Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy shows back up at Dock #1 and a fight with the foremen ensue. Tensions between Paulie and Tazz run high.

At the sound of someone running down the hall, everyone looked to the door just as it burst open, revealing a distraught burly man as he skidded into the room, "Hey! There's trouble!" Paulie, Kaku, and Lulu glared at him and shouted at the same time, "You're too loud, Tilestone!" Tazz just blinked at the newcomer as she remained tucked in Paulie's lap.

A tickmark appeared on Kalifa's forehead as she adjusted her glasses, "How rude! You all be quiet!" The man just went to Iceburg's bed and raised his fists as he shouted, "Oh, Iceburg-san! I'm really glad that you came around!" Paulie shifted in his seat, sliding Tazz to where he had been sitting, before standing and knocking the large man out of the room, "You speak each and every word too loud! That isn't good for him, right?!"

The man held his head, "Yeah! You're right! I'm sorry!" He sat up and put his fists on the floor, "Oh, that's right! There's trouble! Listen, you guys!" Tazz stood and walked up behind Paulie, peering over his shoulder at the stranger.

The man caught sight of her and looked at the blond man before asking loudly, "Who's that?!" Paulie looked back at Tazz before returning his gaze to the man on the floor, "That's Tazz, my girlfriend. Tazz, this is Tilestone." Tazz lifted her hand in greeting as Tilestone's eyes widened comically as he took in the information, "Girlfriend?! I never thought you'd manage to get a girlfriend, Paulie!"

Paulie grumbled and rubbed his head, "You're too loud!" He suddenly remembered why he came there, "Anyway! The trouble!" Paulie put his hands on his hips, "Don't come inside the room. Speak from where you are." 

Tilestone then started explaining, "At Dock #1, the pirate Straw Hat, who came yesterday, started a fight with Franky and they're wrecking the shipyard!" Paulie scowled, "That bastard...! How dare he just show up at the Dock like that...?" Tazz brushed passed him as she walked forward, making Paulie look at her, "Tazz..."

She didn't turn around and instead started running. Paulie watched her for a moment before he, Lulu, and Kaku ran after. When they got there, Tazz was nowhere in sight and the two troublemakers were still fighting.

Paulie ran up to Luffy and punched him as Lulu did the same to Franky. Paulie put his hands on his hips, "How dare you pull all this crap? What's your goal, Straw Hat?!" The blond froze when Tazz stepped in front of her brother with a glare on her face, "Paulie. I was going to let you take out your frustrations, but I will not tolerate you hurting my brother. Didn't you promise that you wouldn't? Or does that mean I just shouldn't take your promises seriously?" Paulie bit down on his cigar, "Now isn't the time for this, Tazz..."

She stayed strong no matter how much it hurt her to stand on the wrong side of him and his friends while they were ready to attack. Franky watched the foremen, "Galley-La...What do you want? Hey, hey, guys from Galley-La! You shouldn't butt into our fight! Do you wanna get hurt?" Kaku spoke up next, "It's amazing you say that. After you messed up our factory this much, we don't even need a reason to come stop you!"

Tilestone let out a shout, "That's right, Franky! How are you gonna settle this?!" Paulie slapped a hand against the burly man's stomach, "Hold on a sec, Tilestone. We'll talk about it later. We have more important business right now." He looked back to Luffy, "Right, Straw Hat Luffy? You know what I'm talking about, right?"

He put his hand back on his hip, "I'm surprised you that could show your face again." Luffy just looked confused, "What? Why? We came here because we heard the news about pops." Franky looked from the foremen to Luffy, "Geez... Our family wasn't enough so you messed with Galley-La, too? Are you guys all going through puberty, hurting everyone you come across?" 

Luffy bristled and shouted at Franky, "Like I said, we didn't do anything!" Paulie reached into his sleeve and pulled out a rope, "If you play innocent, then we'll just put the screws on you." Before Tazz could intercept the rope, it wrapped around Luffy throat. 

She looked back before turning back to the foremen, tears building in her eyes as her glare became harsher as black flames sparked to life on her arms and around her feet. Her tail snaked out over the waistband of her shorts as the flames completely encased her arms and her pupils became slits. When the flames dispersed, her arms were now covered in black fur up to the shoulders and her nails had become sharp, orange claws as orange bull horns sprouted from her temples.

She looked at Paulie, both sadness and anger in her eyes, "Let go of Luffy!" Paulie stared at her in shock before snapping out of it as the other foremen gaped at seeing that she has a devil fruit power, "No can do!" He yanked Luffy into the air by the rope before slamming him into some wreckage.

She growled and started and picked up a large steel beam, running towards them while the other foremen prepared for an attack from her and Franky. She swung the beam at Kaku, who jumped over it, before she dashed towards Lulu after he kicked Luffy. She jumped and swiped her claws at him and he barely dodged in time to avoid being slashed.

She landed in a crouch and growled at him with anguished tears pouring from her eyes, He paused when he saw that she was crying before he looked at Paulie, "Oi! Do something about her!" The blond watched his girlfriend before sighing, "Tazz, please don't do this."

She turned her glare to him, "I can't just stand by and let you hurt my brother!" After a heated staredown, Tazz finally lost her composure and her glare slipped as she kneels and hung her head, tears dripping to the ground. Paulie started walking towards Luffy who had just been fighting Lucci, "Straw Hat... We're the ones who'd like to know why. The culprits who broke in to our main office last night and attacked Iceburg-san...were from your gang, weren't they?!"

Luffy stared at Paulie in shock, "D-Don't be ridiculous! Why... Why would we do such a thing?!" Paulie sighed gruffly, "So you'd play innocent to the end, huh?" Luffy persisted, "But we really didn't..."

The blond man continued, "The culprits... When Iceburg-san came around, he told us that he remembered the two culprits. One was a big man with a mask on. The other was a tall woman. When we asked the government, they said that she's one of you guys...Nico Robin, the woman with a bounty on her head! Did you come to this island in order to kill Iceburg-san from the start? Or did you decide to do so after you guys met him yesterday? I don't know what you pirates think...but now we've come to know you're the culprits, we won't leave you at large." Franky finally spoke up, "Hey, hey, so did Iceburg die?" Paulie turned to the cyborg, "Heaven forbid that he'd get killed by fools like them!"

He turned back to Luffy, "Precisely because he's alive, this guy could go after his life again! So we'll take care of him right here, right now." Luffy barely dodged something thrown at him, getting a cut on his cheek as Kaku spoke, "Dead or alive... They don't care if you're captured alive or not. Do you know what it means to be on the wanted list? You pirates can't complain, no matter who does what to you. In other words, the world's laws won't protect you guys." Luffy looked at the long-nosed man, "That't right. We are outlaws."

He wiped the blood from his cheek, "I know that. But...don't say things like that when you know nothing of Robin!" Luffy knelt and put a hand on his knee, "Let me see Ice pops! I'm sure he was mistaken! There's no way it was Robin!" Lulu watched the boy from behind his sunglasses, "Why would we let you get closer when we don't know what you'd do?!"

Paulie walked forward, "Just keep insisting that. In any case, this is it for you two. Learn that harming Iceburg-san means that you're turning us, Galley-La Company, into an enemy... That you're turning this city, Water Seven, into an enemy." Luffy bristled again, "Why are you saying groundless things like that?! Let me talk to Ice pops!" Paulie continued, "Just give up, pirate! The information will spread throughout this town immediately. There's no longer a place for you to escape! We'll bring down everyone in your gang!"

The blond man once more launched a rope at Luffy, knotting it around his arm. Luffy jumped up to avoid Kaku's projectiles and Paulie pulled the rope, making him fly before he landed on his feet and panted, "What's the matter, Straw Hat?! You've only been defending. Don't you wanna fight back?!" He tugged the rope tighter around Luffy's arm and the boy responded, "Like I said, I don't have any reason to fight you!"

Lulu dropped his guns and pulled out a pair of saws, "We now know that guns don't work on you." Tilestone fired a cannon-like gun at Luffy and a cloud of smoke covered the area. Paulie pulled the rope back and looked at the frayed end through his goggles and thought to himself, 'He got away.'

He looked up and saw the boy on top of a pallet of wood being held up by a crane and Lucci jumped up, cutting the rope with a large saw. Luffy fell to the ground and ran to avoid the falling wood before looking ahead and seeing Lulu getting ready to attack. He dodged Lulu's swings and jumped back against a wall.

He then got pinned by Kaku's weapons and was once more fired at by Tilestone. Tazz's head shot up when she heard his scream and she looked over. Her eyes widened when it looked like he took a direct hit. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks as she began crawling forward a few feet befor her claws dug into the ground, "Luffy..."

She lowered her head to the ground and sobbed softly, not even paying attention when the air started getting sucked towards Franky. When what seemed to be an air bullet hit a heap of scrap, she was knocked to the side. She only moved when she heard a civilian say that Luffy was trying to get away and she sat up, hair shadowing her eyes as she looked at the ground.

The foremen grouped back together and rested a bit. Kaku put a hand on his head, "Franky has really done it..." Lulu patted himself off, "What a terrible day today is!" Paulie was looked in the direction they escaped from, "At any rate, we can't let them get away. Aqua Laguna is coming tonight. Except for the two sea train departures left today, they have no means to leave this island since they can no longer use the ship they came on. We'll gather information. Have every Galley-La craftsman spread around the island. We're gonna settle this before sunset!"

Lucci looked over at Tazz who was meters away, still seated on the ground with her head down, "What about your little girlfriend?" Paulie looked over at the woman and frowned, the necklace hidden under his shirt feeling much heavier, "I deal with her..." He then started walking over to her before he stood in front of her, looking down at the top of her head.

He blinked and relaxed a bit when her horns turned to ash before blowing away in the wind and her arms once more became covered in fire before it died down to show that they were normal while her tail remained limp behind her. He put a hand in his pocket, "Oi." She didn't even appear to have heard him.

He grumbled and puffed his cigar, "Tazz, look at me." After a moment, she finally looked up at him enough so that only one eye was visible through her fringe and the dull look made Paulie frown. He sighed and flicked the ash from his cigar, "I'm doing what I gotta do. I don't want you to make an enemy of us too."

She narrowed her eye a fraction, "Or what? You'll turn me in to the government? Or would you kill me first?" Paulie flinched and sighed before crouching down, "I promised you I wouldn't let you get taken away..." She glared at him, "You promised you wouldn't hurt my brother, too, and look at how that turned out..."

Paulie scowled and clenched his fist, "Dammit, Tazz! Why are you being like this!" She scoffed and scowled right back, "How would you be if you were torn between the two people you love?!" She pulled her necklace from her shirt and yanked it off, tossing it as his feet as she stood.

He stared at her in shock as she started walking away and his hand uselessly reached after her with a weak call of her name. He just watched as she left the Dock and disappeared between the surrounding buildings. He moved his gaze down to the silver necklace lying at his feet, staring at it before sighing and picking it up.

He shoved it in his pocket before rubbing the back of his neck, wondering about how he would handle her. He stood and walked back over to the others, "Lets start stationing the craftsmen around the island." The others stood and began the task.

After getting the shipwrights spread around, Paulie was walking down a walkway, staring at the silver necklace in his hand. As he walked, he saw a familiar figure at the end of a dead end walkway from the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked, blinking when he saw that it was Tazz,

She was staring out at the water, not moving. He looked back to the necklace in his hand before he started walking towards her. His heart dropped and his cigar fell from his mouth when he realized that she was starting to lean forward and he rushed over, wrapping his arms around her waist and falling back on his butt with her pulled against him with his legs on each side of her.

He stared at the top of her head with wide, angry eyes, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" She remained unmoving in his arms as her quiet voice reached his ears, "Let go..." He scowled, "Like hell I will!"

Her shoulders began trembling, "I said let go of me...!" He shook his head and tightened his arms around her, "I'm not letting go! If I didn't come by, you would've died!" She hung her head, "You should've let me..."

He stared at her for a moment before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck, "Don't be so selfish...! If not for me, then think of your brother! How would he react at finding out his sister drowned herself?!" She tensed before leaning against him.

He felt the material of her shirt get a little wet and he blinked before realizing he was actually crying a bit. He grit his teeth and hugged her tighter, his breath hitching a bit. They sat like that before Tazz slowly pried his arms from her, making him look up at her.

Her shoulders slumped, "We should probably go our separate ways...They know I'm close to Luffy so if we're seen like this, they'll think we're working together or something..." Paulie frowned before thinking of something, "I've got an idea." Tazz turned to him as he started explaining his plan.

They left the dead end with Paulie leading Tazz who was tied up with his ropes. She kept her head down as Paulie tugged her a bit, making her stumble a bit, to keep up the act. They went back to Dock #1 and saw that the other foremen had returned.

Kaku looked over at the two as they walked up and he noticed the ropes around her, "Couldn't she just burn or break those?" Paulie took a drag of his cigar and nodded his head to her, "I didn't have any seastone on me. Besides, look at her. Does she seem like she's in any state to fight?" Kaku put his hand on his chin as he looked closer at her, seeing that she was in a depression, "That's true..."

Paulie tugged her closer, inwardly asking for forgiveness, "I'm not gonna let her leave my sight. I'd rather not have to chase her down along with the Straw Hats." Lulu folded his arms over his chest, "I believe that'd be a good idea. One less pirate to have to worry about." Lucci just silently stared at her while Tilestone spoke up, "It's a shame she's a pirate! I think she would've made a good shipwright with how strong she is!"

Paulie yanked her forward again, making her stumble and fall to her knees. Kaku put his hands on his hips, "You're treating her rather harshly despite her being your girlfriend." Paulie blew out smoke and looked down at her, "Yeah? Well, I don't have any love for enemies."


	11. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big things happen at the main office.

Tazz knew that Paulie only said that to keep up the charade, but it still shot through her heart like a bullet. She bit her lower lip and kept her head down as she sat back on her heels. She clenched her bound fists before relaxing her stature, knowing that it was useless to try to move in her situation. 

Paulie reached down and pulled her back up before looking at the others, "Well, I'm going to go back to looking for them." He turned and pulled Tazz with him as he looked at her, "You're coming with me. I'll try to get some seastone chains to keep you secure." The others watched him walk off, pulling Tazz behind him.

When he got to a certain spot, he looked around before looking at Tazz and speaking so only she can hear, "Sorry about being so rough. I figured they'd catch on if I wasn't." She shook her head and kept her gaze on the ground, "It's fine. You'd didn't mean any of that, did you...?" He looked at her and flicked some ash from his cigar, "Mean what?"

She bit her lower lip, "The part about having no love for the enemy..." He sighed softly, "I will admit that you're on a gray line between friend and enemy, but I could never hate you..." He fell silent when a group of craftsmen arrived.

One of them pointed at Tazz with an uneasy look, "What's she doing here? Isn't she with the Straw Hats?" He held up the rope connected to the ones holding her, "I caught her and don't wanna let her out of my sight. I was planning on getting some seastone chains or something to make sure she didn't try to escape." The shipwright gave an uncertain affirmative before they staked the area out as night began to fall.

Paulie crossed his arms as he looked off, "Dammit! The night is coming at last." One of the craftsman went up to him, "Paulie-san! This is it! The backstreets will become dangerous soon." The blond looked back, "Yeah. Let's go back. I'm gonna head to the main office with this one." He jerked a thumb at Tazz and the craftsman nodded, "Okay! Hey, guys! We're going back!"

Paulie uncrossed his arms as he turned and started walking, pulling Tazz a bit to make her move faster. When they got to the main office, Paulie sat in a chair along with the other four foremen of Dock #1. He pulled Tazz down to sit on the ground next to his chair before he crossed his arms and legs.

Tilestone raised his fists, "Bring it on!" Lucci looked over as Hattori started chastising the loud man, "Shut up, coo coo! Be quiet, Tilestone!" Lulu pressed at the stubborn strand still on his head, "I was told they weren't on the sea train."

Kaku looked ahead, "Then they're still somewhere on this island, huh? But they're fools if they really appear with all these guards around." Paulie looked at him from the corner of his eye, "I heard that an idiot plunged in here in the middle of the day today. Don't think using your common sense." 

After a few minutes, the door opened and Kalifa stepped out before turning to Paulie, "Paulie?" He looked over at her, "Hm?" She looked at him, "Iceburg-san says he has something important to discuss with you."

He slightly tightened his gripe on the rope holding Tazz, "With me?" Kalifa nodded, "Yes, just you. I'll be in the secretary's office, so if anything happens, just call me." He watched her walk away, "Yeah..."

Kaku looked over at the blond man, "Taking the trouble to have a talk alone at a time like this...What on earth could it be about?" Paulie returned his gaze, "Beats me." Tilestone decided to give his input, "A will?!"

Paulie, Lulu, and Lucci all punched the large man while Kaku kicked him. Lulu then stood, "She said it was important. Get in there and talk to him already." Paulie stood as well, "Y-Yeah..." Lulu gestured away from the door, "Shall we stay a little ways away from the door?"

Kaku and Lucci stood as well, "Yeah." Kaku looked to Paulie before pointing at Tazz, "He said he wanted you alone, right? What about her?" Paulie looked down at Tazz before holding the rope out to Kaku, "Will you hold on to her?"

The long-nosed man nodded and took the rope, "Sure." He prodded Tazz with his foot, "Hey, you. Get up." She stood slowly before being pulled along as they went a few yards away.

Tilestone crossed his arms, "I wonder what he needs to talk to Paulie about!" Lulu held a hand up, "It's Iceburg-san we're talking about. It must be very important." Lulu spared a glance at Tazz who had once more sat on the floor, "I wonder if it has anything to do with Paulie's lady."

He looked back to the others, "More importantly, our current problem is those pirates." Hattori spoke up, "Yeah. According to Kalifa's investigation, there're seven of them. Coo coo!" Tilestone looked down at Tazz, "Is she one of them?!"

Hattori pointed at the woman with a wing, "I don't think so. She came here alone a few days before they got here and her brother acted as if he hadn't seen her in a long time. Her brother, the captain, Straw Hat Luffy. Pirate Hunter Zoro and Nico Robin..." Kaku looked at Lucci, "In addition, the young woman that came to Dock #1 this afternoon and the round long-nosed guy." The pigeon nodded before raising his wings, "Yeah. There are two others besides those. That's everyone. Coo coo! Their purpose is the least of our problems. When they make their entry here, that'll be the end of them. We'll bring them all down together. Coo coo!"

The others gave an affirmative shout before Kaku looked to Tazz, "What about this one?" Lucci looked down at her, "I think we should leave that decision to Paulie." The others nodded and looked over as the door opened.

Paulie stepped out and Hattori asked, "Coo coo! Are you guys done talking?" Paulie looked over at them, "Yeah. Something came up. Sorry, but I have to leave for a bit. Is it okay?" Lulu crossed his arms over his chest, "That's fine. The four of us will be more than enough."

Paulie started walking over to them. "I see. I'll take her with me to get her out of your hair. Watch over Iceburg-san." Tazz stood before Paulie turned and started walking down the hall with her in tow. They reached Iceburg's office and he opened the door before entering.

He moved Tazz over to the wall and put a hand on her shoulder, "Stay right there." He walked over to Iceburg's desk and started pulling it aside. He knelt down and lifted the carpet and a floorboard, revealing a safe, "This must be it."

Tazz leaned against the wall, not paying much attention when he started muttering the combination to the lock. Suddenly, a boom sounded and Paulie jumped up, "What was that explosion?!" He growled and opened the safe, seeing a rolled up paper on the inside.

He grabbed the paper in both hands, "This must be it." Tazz jumped away from the door and closer to Paulie, clenching her fists and debating on whether to break the ropes around her or not as a strange voice piped up, "I see...So that's the thing Mr. Iceburg has been hiding, huh?"

Paulie slowly looked back to see two figures in the doorway as the voice spoke again, "Give it to us. You can't appreciate its value." Tazz growled and took another step closer to Paulie as he spoke, "Who the hell are you bastards? Where'd you come from?" The masked figure that had been speaking responded once more, "The darkness. However, we're a group that carries out justice. We are Cipher Pol No. 9, and undercover intelligence agency."

Paulie held the paper tighter, "No matter where you slipped in from, you must've encountered our craftsmen without fail." The figure spoke again, "Did we?" Paulie's eyes widened when he saw the blood dripping from the hand of the person with the bull mask as the voice continued, "We might have...or we might not have...I don't really remember the details."

Paulie bit down on his cigar as sweat dripped down his temple, "This is no longer something as simple as an assassination, is it?" The bull-headed figure raised his hand, "Well, I don't recall us calling it that. In any case, please give us that valuable item of Mr. Iceburg's, and...since you've learned something about it...we'd like you to die. In the name of justice...Right here...right now..." Tazz stepped in front of Paulie and made a growl so deep and guttural, it would be impossible for a normal human to make.

She tensed her arms before snapping the ropes around her, her tail slipping out from above the waistband of her shorts. She got in a defensive crouch before one of the figures was suddenly right in front of her. She didn't even have enough time to blink before a leg shot out and hit her in the stomach.

She coughed out some blood and was launched into the wall as Paulie jumped up, "Tazz!" The wall cracked and caved in a bit from the impact before she fell from the wall. She slowly pushed herself up to her hands just in time to see the figures appear in front of Paulie.

Her eyes widened when the their hands rushed forward, hitting the blonde man and stabbing him with their fingers. She reached uselessly towards him as she cried out, "Paulie!"

The two masked men stood by, watching Paulie fall, "You're no match for our martial art skills." The one with the bull mask held out his hand, "Now, hand it over already...or else you'll get it dirty with your blood." Paulie clenched his teeth as he thought to himself, 'Dammit...I thought...I could defeat you.'

He collapsed to the ground and Tazz cried out again before she started crawling over to him as tears filled her eyes, "Paulie!" The papers rolled from his hand and to the feet of the bull masked man, who picked it up and began unraveling them. Tazz reached Paulie as he began to speak, "To tell you the truth...Iceburg-san told me to run away. He told me to drop it quickly and run...since..." He slowly turned his head and grinned, "It's a complete fake."

The men looked at Paulie, "A fake, you said? How foolish..." Paulie let out a chuckle, "I don't know who you are, but this means your plan failed, doesn't it? How pathetic. Sorry, Pal. I don't even know what you're looking for." The figures stared at him, "How cocky... You think you outwitted the CP9? In any case, even though you're only a decoy, we can't keep you alive now that you've become involved."

Just as the figures took a step forward, the wall behind them burst as a body came through and got stuck in the wall, "I got stuck! Dammit! I got stuck again! Why does this always happen?!" Paulie looked at the boy, "Straw Hat...!" Tazz grasped her stomach as she laid on her side, "Luffy...!"

Luffy looked up, "Huh? Ah! The rope guy! Tazz?! What're you doing here?! What happened to you two? Are you okay? You're covered in blood. You sure are full of surprises!" Paulie scowled, "That'd be you! This is the third floor!" The masked figures stared at Luffy, "Straw Hat Luffy...So you took the trouble to come to take the crime upon yourself?"

Luffy blinked before gaping, "Ahh! Masks! Are they masks?! Then you people must be the ones who're making Robin do stuff? Give Robin back to us, you damn bastards! Dammit! Hey! Say something!" The figure with the skull mask kicked his leg horizontally, the force crashing into the wall just as Luffy got free. Paulie grit his teeth, "Straw Hat!"

The bull masked one was suddenly behind Luffy and he kicked his leg back until Luffy hit the ground with the figure's foot on his throat. He started attacking with what appeared to be hooks and he pinned the boy to the floor. Tazz tried to prop herself up on her elbow, "Luffy!"

The bull figure stood next to Luffy, "We've got an emergency situation. We don't have time for you." He turned to his partner, "Hey, restrain those two, too. This is no time for fighting." The skull masked one loomed over Tazz and Paulie with the hook shaped restraints in his hand before pinning the two after moving them on their backs.

Paulie looked over at Luffy, "Are you okay?" Luffy pushed against the restraints, "This is...nothing!" The blond turned his head to his other side to Tazz, "What about you?" She looked over at him to meet his gaze, "I think I may have taken some internal damage...That kick was pretty hard..."

Paulie looked back at her brother, "Straw Hat, why did you come here? Everyone thinks that you guys are the culprits. I'm sorry... It was all because of our wrong assumption." Luffy stared up at the ceiling, "Don't worry about it. We're used to being pursued. More importantly, a member of our crew was taken by masked men. So I came to take her back." Paulie's chest heaved as he breathed heavily, "You're talking about Nico Robin, right?"

He looked back up at the ceiling, "You're strong when you fight, right?" Luffy gave an affirmative before Paulie continued as he looked over, "Can you beat them?" The boy gave a determined stare at the ceiling, "Yes, I can!"

Paulie returned his gaze to the ceiling once more, "Then, fight with me! I wanna beat them, too!" Luffy kept his eyes above him, "You do..." Paulie grit his teeth, "Of course I do! Why...Why does Iceburg-san have to be killed by some totally strange idiots?! Give me a break! Who the hell are those people?! The hell with the undercover intelligence agency, bastards!" He let out a few pained grunts and Luffy looked over and saw tears in his eyes as the blond continued, "He was...my teacher. He helped me to become an established shipwright! Why would someone like him be..."

Tazz managed to put her hand in Paulie's, kind of glad that she was put close enough to him to do so. Luffy kept his gaze on Paulie, "But you're too injured to..." Paulie cut him off, glaring at the ceiling as he grasped the woman's hand, "I said I want to beat the crap out of those idiots! Who care what happens to my body later on?!"

Tazz looked at him, a small frown on her face since she wanted to tell him that she cared, but she held it back as Paulie let out a yell, "I'm gonna fight to the very last bone in my body! Dammit! Take these off!" Luffy let out a yell of his own, "Okay! Take these off! Dammit!" The two continued to yell as they fought against their restraints and Tazz did so as well, albeit more quietly.


	12. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The CP9 members reveal themselves.

Luffy was pulling his head from the restraint on his neck and it popped out, his torso bouncing around a bit before he hit his head against the restraint he just freed himself of. Paulie watched in in awe as Luffy turned his head to look at him, "See?! My head came out...since it's made of rubber." The blond furrowed his brows, "Okay, good job! Get every body part out by doing what you just did!"

Luffy grinned, "Yep! No problem!" He started pulling himself free as Paulie resumed fighting his bonds. After freeing his arms, Luffy started pulling his waist and legs free before finally slipping out and rocketing against a wall.

Paulie tilted his head back to look at him as he stood up, "All right! I'm out...since I'm a rubber man!" Paulie wiggled again, "Good job! Okay! Take off my cuffs!" The blond panted as he looked back to the ceiling, "Just wait and see...damn bull and skull...!"

Paulie rubbed his wrists and neck after being freed from the cuffs and watched Luffy release his sister, "Well, we can figure that out later. Right now we have to get to Iceburg-san." Tazz stood and nodded. They all began running in the direction of Iceburg's room before Luffy turned to a pair of doors and bust them open before raising his fists and yelling.

Paulie turned to him as he pointed down the hall, "Oi, Straw Hat! You idiot! Wrong room! It's the next room!" Luffy stopped his yelling and looked to his right, "Oh, the next room?" He ran to the wall and began busting it in, "Where's Robin?!".

He entered the room with Tazz and Paulie behind him and they stood panting heavily. Luffy looked at Robin, "Robin! I finally found you!" The green-haired swordsman that had cut down the doors at the same time looked at his captain with a tick mark, "Oi, Luffy! Where the hell have you been?!" The little reindeer standing next to Nami looked at Robin, "Robin! I'm glad that I could see you again!"

Nami took in the whole situation, "Hold on a sec... What's going on here?" Paulie's eyes widened as he recognized the other people in the room, "Iceburg-san... What the hell...is going on?!" Tazz glared at the man in the top hat, "Tch! I knew they smelt familiar..."

Iceburg let out a few painful pants, "Paulie... Why...didn't you run?" Paulie just stared in shock at the people he had been working alongside for the past five years, "What's going on? This looks...as if...they're the culprits who tried to kill you!" Tazz looked over at him with a concerned expression, "Paulie..."

He let out a yell, "Why are you guys dressed like that?! Hey! Kalifa...! Blueno...! Kaky...! Lucci...! Stop joking, you bastards!" Luffy stared at them before realizing, "Oh, right! They're some of the shipwrights who were with you! Right?!" Zoro also recalled one of them, "Come to think of it, I know that square long-nosed guy." Nami piped up, "Could this mean...that the assassination was an inside job?!"

Chopper looked to her, "What? What do you mean?!" Lucci finally addressed the blond man, "Paulie, to tell you the truth, we're Government intelligence agents. Well, you'd forgive us if we apologized, right? We were fellow shipwrights who worked together building ships every day. If you can't believe me because this is too sudden, shall I step on Iceburg's face or something?" Paulie narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, "Stop messing around! That's enough... After all, the bull-masked man's voice I heard earlier is the same as yours! Dammit, you bastard! You can talk just fine! How dare you mock us?!"  
Tazz couldn't reach out in time to keep Paulie from running forward and Iceburg tried to stop him, "Don't, Paulie!" Tazz stepped forward and clenched her fists as Paulie tossed his arm forward, shooting out rope with knives attached. Paulie's eyes widened as Lucci dodged the attacked, dashing forward before plunging his finger into the blond's chest.

Tazz's eyes widened and she moved forward before she was held back by her brother's arm, "Paulie!" Luffy leaned forward a bit, "Oi! Rope guy!" Paulie lurched forward a bit, "Why...? You guys..." He fell to a knee as Lucci glared down at him, "Stop this pointless resistance. We've mastered techniques beyond the limits of human abilities. After years of training, these techniques, called the 'Six Powers', allow human bodies to be a match for weapons. Once one masters them, he alone is as strong as 100 people together."

Paulie glared up at Lucci as he began to stand up, "Why are you guys...?" Lucci put his hand on the blond's shoulder to keep him there as he raised his other hand, "Well, never mind. Either way, you're gonna be killed. This is sad, but my friend..." Iceburg stared up at the hatted man, "Lucci! You...!"

Luffy pulled his leg back before launching it forward at Lucci, "Stop it! You jerk!" Lucci caught his foot effortlessly and Luffy jumped up, letting himself be pulled closer by the elasticity of his body, as he pulled back his fist. Lucci used his iron body technique as Luffy used his gatling attack, the punches not even moving the man an inch.

Luffy landed and Tazz covered her arms in flames as her horns appeared and pupils became slits. Her arms changed into their fighting form and she growled the same deep, menacing growl as before. Suddenly, Lucci disappeared from sight and began dashig in and out of view as her got closer to Luffy before jamming his finger in the boy's throat, knocking him back into the rubble of the doorway.

Lucci watched the boy as he coughed, "If you had a flesh and blood body, you would've gotten a hole in your neck and died instantly, rubber man." Luffy sat up and stretched his arm out, grabbing Paulie by his jacket and pulling him out of the way. Tazz ran over and crouched next to the blond, "Paulie! Are you alright?!"

He turned his head to look at her, "As alright as I can be in this situation..." Lucci just glared at Luffy, "What're you doing, Straw Hat?" Luffy panted before responding, "You're planning to kill him, aren't you?! I thought you were shipwright friends who worked together!"

Tazz put her hand on Paulie's back as he started to get up, "Don't push yourself..." Lucci watched apathetically, "Up until earlier, yes. But that's no longer the case." Her brother stiffened, "Then you guys really are traitors?! Fine then! At any rate, I promised him that we'd beat the crap out of those who're trying to kill Ice pops together!"

Kaku watched the straw hat boy, "Why are you siding with Paulie?" Luffy glared at the group, "Because I have some business with you people, too! And my sister would be sad if something happened to him. Hey, Robin! Why are you with jerks like them?! If you wanna leave us, tell us the reason!" Nami took a step forward and held a hand up, "He's right! They said they work for the government! So why?!"

A tense silence filled the room before Robin finally spoke, "You're not listening, are you? I did say goodbye to Cook and Doctor. You didn't tell them?" Chopper frowned, "I did! But I can't accept it, either! Why Robin?!" Robin's eyes narrowed a fraction, "To make my wish come true... A wish that can never come true if I'm with you! In order to make it happen, I don't care what sacrifices need to be made!"

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the woman, "That's why...you set your friends up as assassins without hesitation? What's that wish of yours?!" Robin just stared at him, "I don't need to tell you." Iceburg glared up at Robin from the floor, "This is insane! That woman is...! Are you out of your mind, Nico Robin?! Do you realize what you're about to do?!"

Robin frowned at the blue-haired man, "You no longer have the right to say anything! Keep your mouth shut!" She pointed her hand at him and made several hands appear from the ground around him and they painfully contorted his body to keep him silent. Paulie let out a shocked shout of his name as Tazz put her arm in front of him, making the man grab her arm and look at her with a scowl, "What are you doing?!"

For the first time since he met her, her face was deadly serious and her voice firm, "What do you think you could do in your condition right now? Think carefully. You're already on the verge of collapsing at this very moment..." He grit his teeth and looked away, frustrated that she was right. He turned his glare back to the CP9 agents.

Luffy leaned forward, "Hey, Robin! What are you doing?! Do you really mean it?!" Chopper added in, "Robin! What happened to you?! Are you really our enemy now?! Robin!" Lucci stepped in front of Robin, "Sorry, but I need you guys to stop now. We have to find an important person now, so we're in a hurry. We no longer have business here. We don't have any business with you guys, either. Kalifa, how much time is left?"

The blonde woman pulled out a pocket watch, "Two minutes." Lucci resumed speaking, "I know this is sudden, but this building is to be set aflame in two minutes. Fire is an effective tool for destroying various types of evidence. If you don't wanna burn to death, you should leave the building immediately. Well of course...that is, if you could." Zoro put his hands on his swords, "Looks like they intend to eliminate us. It also seems that Nico Robin wants to be on their side. Luffy, were you able to accept Robin's leaving the ship?"

Luffy stiffened his shoulders, "How could I?!" Lucci continued to watch with a stony face, "Well, you don't have to shout like that. Soon, several rooms on the first floor will burst into flames. Well, the culprits are pirates. Things like this can happen." Paulie glared at his former friends, "You bastards...!"

Nami shifted into a fighting stance, "To think that you do as you please while pretending someone else did it... You sure have bad taste!" Blue folded his arms, "You guys are already criminals. No harm done." Robin pulled her hood over her head and closed her eyes, "Well, then... I'll go ahead and leave now."

Lucci kept his eyes on the group in front of him, "Yeah, you completed your job. Thanks." Luffy leaned forward, "Wait, Robin! I won't allow it!" The tall woman turned away, "Goodbye."

The boy ran forward, "Where're you going this time...when we finally found you?!" He jumped to kick at Blueno's face, "Outta my way, you bastard!" The large man used the iron body technique and Luffy's foot harmlessly landed on the man's face before he landed, "Why are their bodies so hard?!"

Blueno stared down at Luffy as he explained, "Our bodies are well trained. We can raise our bodies' solidity to be as hard as iron crust. However... That's not to say defense is all we can do." Luffy pulled back his fist, "I said outta my way!" He released his gatling attack which Blueno dodged as easily as paper in the wind.

Luffy pulled his fist back for a punch and Blueno disappeared before reappearing behind the boy just as Kaku and Kalifa ran up, kicking him in the stomach and slashing the wall. Luffy flew down the hall before landing and Tazz clenched her fists, "Luffy!" Zoro ran up to Kaku as he pulled out a sword.

The long-nosed man pulled out his own weapon and blocked, "We met on your ship, didn't we, Roronoa?" They both pulled out another and blocked each other once more and Zoro glared, "You aren't a shipwright, then? Then, could that assessment of our ship you made be..." Kaku returned the glare, "Unfortunately... I made the assessment of the ship seriously."

Zoro pushed Kaku back before running at him again, "That's indeed unfortunate." They clashed once more and began slashing and blocking each other. Luffy stood just as Robin opened the window, "Don't go, Robin! We're not done talking yet!"

Robin looked back at her former captain, "Yes, we are. I'll never see you guys again." Zoro cut through Kaku's weapons and looked at Luffy, "Luffy! Hurry up and catch Robin!" Kaku stood on a hand as he looked at Zoro with a grin, "Roronoa! You're quite confident, aren't you, taking your eyes off me?"

He flipped back over to his feet and plunged a finger into Zoro's chest and upper stomach and the green-haired man fell to the floor. Kaku kept his eyes forward, not even looking back at the swordsman he just took down, "We don't need bullets to shoot through human bodies." Lucci reached forward, grabbing Luffy by his face to stop him from getting closer to Robin.

Lucci tossed the boy aside before returning his hand to his pocket. Paulie stared at the agents, "What are you people?" Lucci looked at the blond man, "We've lived in a different environment. Ever since we, CP9 members, can remember, we've been prepared to risk our lives for the Government and trained to surpass the limits of human abilities. As a result, we've mastered the superhuman techniques called the Six Powers. I'm sure you've fully learned by now that the four of us, who have been entrusted with the World Government's vital tasks, are in a whole different league from you guys, a mere pirate group. This is a world-class top secret. It's not a matter that people like you can get involved in." When the clock ticked the last minute, Kalifa turned to Lucci, "Lucci... It's about time for the igniters to go off. We have to hurry, too."

Lucci agreed before continuing, "But this is a rare occasion. Let me show you something interesting before we go." The others stared in shock as Lucci began to transform. Sweat dripped down the side of Paulie's face, "Lucci... What the hell are you?"


	13. Timing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of CP9.

Lucci finished transforming into a large leopard-man, "The Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Leopard." Smoke began to fill the room, making Hattori cough into his wing as Lucci spoke, "Looks like the fire has started to spread." Paulie clenched his fist and started standing, Tazz looking up at him worriedly before she stood as well, "I don't know if you're a leopard human or what, but... I won't let you lay a finger on Iceburg-san!"

Chopper realized something, "Oh, no! Carnivore Zoan types become more brutal!" Lucci stared down at them from his tremendous height, "That's right. Logia types, Zoan types, and Paramecia types... Many unique powers exist. Genuine physical augmentation is the trait of Zoan types." He glanced at Tazz before returning his gaze forward, "And it seems your little girlfriend has one of the most rare Zoan types. The more we train, the stronger we get. The Zoan type is the strongest species when it comes to a close attack."

Paulie clenched his fists, "Shut up! I don't wanna hear stuff about monsters like that!" Tazz flinched from his words and glared at the floor as she bit her lower lip. Lucci glared at Paulie, "We don't want to waste time, either...since we have to take care of you guys before we get wrapped up in flames."

Kalifa heard the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs, "Lucci... The craftsmen are coming upstairs." Lucci shrugged off her words, "Don't worry. They can't make it this far." Lucci stepped forward before performing a Tempest Kick, the force slicing through the whole building and making the ceiling collapse.

Tazz gasped as a large chunk of the ceiling fell towards her and she held her arms up, grunting as she pushed against it and tossed it aside. She watched Paulie run over to Iceburg and she followed, taking his other arm around her shoulder as Paulie did the same. Iceburg looked at the two, "Paulie, Tazz, what are you doing?"

Paulie looked forward as he started to stand, "I'm taking you out of this place no matter what!" Iceburg furrowed his brows, "It's not possible! You're injuries are too severe! How can you..." The blond man grunted as he stood and Kalifa stepped in the way, "Stop it, Paulie."

The others loomed around the three as Paulie spoke, "Don't call my name...as if we're friends! Get...out of our way! Damn you...! Why did it have to be you guys?! I...at least..." He looked up at them with tears in his eyes, "I considered you guys my friends all this time!" Lucci stared down at him, "It was just you."

Lucci began walking forward and Tazz released Iceburg's arm to stand in front of him and Paulie, a low growl rising in her throat as she glared, snarling and getting in a defensive stance. Lucci pulled back his hand before a fist punched him in the face as Luffy shouted, "Pigeon jerk...!"

Paulie's eyes widened, "Straw Hat!" Luffy jumped at Lucci before the leopard man stabbed him through with a clawed finger and Tazz's eyes widened. Lucci then grabbed the boy by the head and threw him through the wall.

Zoro glared and ran towards Lucci as he hardened his arm, blocking the slash before spinning and kicking Zoro in the gut. He spun again and launched Zoro through a wall. Lucci turned to Nami and loomed over her.

Tazz's vision filled with red and she growled and hunched over a bit, blacking out as her own body began to transform against her will. Paulie stared at her as black fur sprouted over her body and her legs began to shift. Her body grew and changed and her face changed into a muzzle lined with large and sharp teeth.

Her clothes ripped in many places and she soon finished changing form, now appearing as an 8' tall, canine-like creature with the same tail and horns that she had had in her fighting form. The creature let out a deafening roar before it lunged at Lucci. He turned just in time to block her, grabbing her throat and chest as she snapped her jaws at him.

His eyes widened before he picked her up and threw her against the wall. She landed against the wall on her paws and jerked her head up to look at him, piercing orange eyes now having an unnerving glow. She launched herself at him once more, sprinting towards him and latching onto his arm before he could harden it.

He glared at her and grabbed her by the back of the neck and began pulling. Her jaws had an iron grip on his arm and the skin ripped a bit when he finally yanked her off and threw her away. She skidded to a stop and growled again before dashing forward.

Lucci growled in annoyance and waited for her to get closer. When she jumped at him, he stabbed her chest and stomach with his clawed finger before grabbing her and slamming her against the floor. The CP9 agents then quickly knocked Paulie and Iceburg out and tied them up before they exited the building while she was still down as the fire finally reached the third floor.

She spewed some blood and shakily got to her paws, looking around for the enemy before she caught sight of Paulie and Iceburg. She growled deeply and started stalking towards them. When she was a few feet away, her vision briefly returned and she saw the two men sitting unconscious. Her eyes widened and she shook her head before backing up, a single word flashing through her mind: monster.

When her front paws changed in to hands, she clutched her head and began changing form again, reverting back to her human self and she fell to her knees, letting out an anguished roar that morphed into a normal human scream. She gripped her head before leaning forward and repeatedly slamming her forehead against the floor.

Suddenly, a heap of wreckage moved, revealing Chopper before he walked to Zoro's sword and picked it up in his mouth. Tazz watched before blinking and crawling over to Paulie and Iceburg before quickly changing one of her hands into its fighting form, cutting the ropes around the two of them before changing her hand back to normal. Chopper trotted over and Tazz draped Iceburg over his back while she picked Paulie up bridal style. She took off in a dash towards the window with Chopper right next to her and they jumped through the window.

The craftsmen outside watched with wide eyes as the woman and reindeer landed before realizing who they were carrying, "Iceburg-san...! And Paulie-san!" Chopper saw Nami laying on the ground unconscious and he took a step towards her before collapsing. Tazz panted heavily and knelt down, lowering Paulie to the ground before she, too, collapsed against him.

She wasn't aware of how much time had passed by the time she woke up, but she assumes it wasn't long since she still heard the crackling of the fire. She forced her eyes open, seeing the night sky illuminated by the flames. She heard someone nearby, "Iceburg-san has regained consciousness!"

Someone else noticed two more people wake up, "The women, too!" She turned her head and saw Paulie. She grit her teeth as pain flared when she rolled onto her stomach and began pulling herself towards him. She heard someone near her shout, "She's trying to get to Paulie-san! Stop her!"

Iceburg's voice stopped them, "Don't." They all looked at their boss before looking back to the black-haired woman, watching her crawl to Paulie. When she reached him, she put a hand on his chest, "Paulie..."

Her vision went black once more as she passed back out, leaving the craftsmen puzzled by her actions. They all looked over when someone scolded Iceburg for standing before moving away when he asked them to. The craftsmen returned to trying to extinguish the fire.

Paulie eventually woke up and opened his eyes, staring at the sky as he listened to Nami and Chopper discuss their plans before sitting up, vaguely aware of something falling to his lap, "Hey...guys...!" He pointed his thumb at the pirates, "Give this girl and her friend a hand." One of the craftsmen stepped forward, "G-Give them a hand, you said, Paulie?!"

Another one clenched his fists, "They're the culprits who tried to kill Iceburg-san!" Yet another spoke up, "We should restrain these two! Lucci-san and Kaku-san are still missing and..." Paulie leaned his head forward, "The assassination culprits are not the Straw Hats! They're innocent! We were tricked by the real culprits, and so we falsely accused them! I don't know the true identity of those masked men, but the Straw Hats fought against them for us! As a matter of fact, Iceburg-san and I are still alive because of them, right?"

Paulie began to shakily stand, "You don't have to look for Lucci and Kaku. We may not see them again." One of the shipwrights stared at him, "What?! You know what happened to them?!" Paulie turned around, "They're visiting their hometowns."

He turned his head to Namie, "Hey, you, shameless girl!" Nami bristled, "That again... Hey, stop calling me that!" He ignored her words and held up a hand, "You're going to the station, right? I'll show you the way."

Nami relaxed, "Yeah... Thanks. What about Tazz?" Paulie lit a cigar before looking down at Tazz by his feet, crouching down when he noticed her beginning to wake up, "Hey... You okay?" She turned to her side and propped herself up, holding an arm over her stomach, "As okay as I can be at the moment."

He put a hand on her back and rubbed gently, "I'm going to take your friends to the station. You should stay here and rest." She gave him a light glare, "No way in hell! I'm going with you!" Paulie sighed and shook his head, "I don't want you getting hurt anymore."

She frowned and looked at the ground, her soft voice barely being heard, "Why would you care about a monster...?" He frowned and let out another sigh before sitting her up and wrapping his arms around her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lump you with the other Zoan fruit users..." After a second, her shoulders slumped as she sighed before punching his arm, "You better make it up to me for this whole fiasco later, got it?"

He chuckled softly and nodded, removing his cigar from his mouth and kissing her forehead, "Yeah, yeah. I got it." He helped her stand up as the other craftsmen watched on in shock, confused and surprised by him being affectionate. After getting over their shock, the craftsmen resumed questioning him, "Is what you just told us true?!"

The blond looked back at them, "Quit your jabbering and help them already! Are you trying to hurt Galley-La's name?!" The shipwrights saluted with a negative shout before turning to Nami and Chopper before apologizing. Iceburg walked up to Paulie and looked at him, "Visiting their hometowns, huh?"

Paulie looked at him before turning his gaze to the ground, "It's probably not good to give them all the details. We don't have to make them feel the pain we felt, right?" He looked at his hand as he felt someone take it before looking at Tazz who had a small smile. He returned the smile and lightly squeezed her hand.

When they got the Yagaras, Paulie got in with Tazz right after him and he pulled her to sit on the floor in the space between his legs, slinging his arm over the back of the seat, as another shipwright got in behind them. They all took off down the canal before parting ways. Paulie, Nami, Tazz, and some other craftsmen heading to the station while Chopper and his group went to search for Luffy and Zoro.

After a bit, Paulie pointed to the left, "Turn into that canal! That's a shortcut to the station!" After a bit longer, the sound of a steam whistle pierced the air and Nami looked back at Paulie, "Hey! Did you just hear a steam whistle?!" Paulie looked back at her, "Yeah. But it's strange. It's not the departure time yet. But there are no public passengers. It's possible they'd leave earlier due to the weather! Hurry up! We can now see the station in front of us!"

They finally arrived at the station and Paulie pointed at the stairs, "Go down the stairs through the middle entrance!" They watched her run down the stairs and Tazz leaned back against Paulie's leg with a heavy sigh. He looked down at her and ruffled her hair.

The shipwright behind Paulie rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at him and Tazz, "So, uh, Paulie-san... What's your relationship?" He looked over at him, "Huh?" He looked back at Tazz who smiled warmly at him. He returned the smile, "We're dating."

After hearing several shocked gasps, Paulie hopped off the Yagara and held his hand out to Tazz, "Let's go see if she made it." She nodded and took his hand, stepping on to the station floor before they took off down the stairs. Their eyes widened when they saw Nami sitting on the ground with her head bowed and Paulie let out a sigh, "So she didn't make it...?"


	14. Ebb and Flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The storm surge, Aqua Laguna, finally arrives at Water Seven.

Paulie walked up behind Nami as Tazz hung back a bit before walking over to the schedule board and leaned against it with her arms crossed. Paulie put his hands on his hips as he addressed the two operators hiding behind a pillar, "The train left quite a bit early, huh?" The stepped out from behind the pillar and walked over as the round one spoke, "Ah, yes. All the passengers were already here, so..." The slimmer one poked his back, "Also...the sea started to get rougher than we though. At this rate, we though that Aqua Laguna would come very soon, so we moved up the departure time." 

The two looked down at Nami who was still on the ground covering her eyes with her hands and the slim one spoke again, "This place is dangerous, too. You should evacuate to the shipbuilding island soon." The round one gestured to the woman on the ground, "That lady, too." Paulie looked at them, "Yeah..."

He looked down at Nami, "Hey, you... Once the train has left, you can't stop it." The operators began acting like schoolgirls listening to gossip as the blond continued, "It's not easy to say this, but this Enies Lobby place is... Are you crying?" He looked away and put a hand on his head, "Um... Well, I do understand how you feel, but..."

Nami stood and shouted over him, "We're gonna go after them!" Paulie stared at her in disbelief, "Oh she was angry!" The operators stared at each other as Nami continued, "Those idiots from the Government! They're not gonna get away with this!"

Nami leaned towards Paulie, "Hey, let us borrow a ship!" He just stared at her, "What's with you, all of a sudden?" The young woman continued, "A huge and strong ship!"

Paulie watched her, "Are you trying to sail out when the sea is like this?! You idiot! Don't say such stupid stuff when you don't know how awful Aqua Laguna is!" Nami gave him a determined look, "We will make it through!" He bit down on the butt of his unlit cigar, "This is a whole other level from the type of storm surge you're thinking of. The sea will now get terribly rough! You can no longer sail out! If you did, you'd basically be sailing to your deaths!"

Nami bit her lower lip before responding, "But Robin, too, laid down her life for us and..." Paulie looked behind her before running and grabbing her and the operators as a large wave came near. He looked at where Tazz was, "Oi, Tazz! We gotta go!"

She blinked before hearing the wave crashing down and she sprinted right after them, "Hot damn!" They managed to get up the stairs enough to avoid the brunt of the wave. Tazz panted and laid herself on her stomach across Paulie's lap, "What the hell...?!"

Paulie leaned back on his hands, "That was close..." Nami looked over at him, "Th-Thanks..." The slim operator looked at him as well and the spoke, "Paulie-san! Thank you very much!"

The round one muttered about how they almost got sucked into the sea. Paulie looked down at Tazz and put a hand on her back, "Oi, you okay?" She sagged against his legs, "I got wet so I have no energy..."

Paulie looked up and nodded his head, "Look at that. The big schedule board got torn apart by a wave. Nothing like this has ever happened before. What's with the power of this ebbing? It's already this strong when it's only approaching? The speed of the waves of this Aqua Laguna are abnormal." Nami looked back over at him, "Hey... Is the sea train Robin is on okay?" He put another cigar in his mouth as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "It'll probably get through the stormy area right before the storm surge hits. Unless it gets hit directly, it'll make it through most of the big waves."

A craftsman came down the steps a bit and looked at the orange-haired woman, "Hey, are you Nami?" She looked back at him, "Hm?" He held a letter in his hand, "An inconspicuous letter was left in the station plaza. It's probably one of your friends."

She furrowed her brows, "A letter...? From whom? I'm surprised that you found such a small thing." Paulie grabbed Tazz by the back of her shirt and they went up to the plaza and another shipwright pointed at a spot next to a pink paint can with a giant arrow pointed on the pillar, pointing to where the letter was found, "Here! It was left here in an inconspicuous manner." A tick mark appeared on Nami's head when she saw the writing above the arrow obviously belonged to Sanji, "That idiot...!"

Paulie dropped his girlfriend on the ground before he crossed his arms. Tazz stood and gave him a small glare before shaking her head much like a dog and spraying water on the man, making him flinch, "What the hell?!" Tazz pouted and crossed her arms, "You didn't have to drop me."

He sighed softly and pulled her into a side-hug, "Yeah, yeah. Sorry." He looked over at Nami as she began to read the letter, "What does it say?" Namie looked over the contents of the paper, "Hmm.. Hold on a sec. The first half is just a pointless love letter, so..."

The round operator leaned closer to his friend, "She said it's a love letter. The third man has appeared." He partner narrowed his eyes, "No... Judging from the situation, the third man is actually..." The two gasped before looking at Paulie.

He looked over at them, "Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?" Nami finally found what she was looking for, "Here's the important part... What?! Sanji-kun got on that train?! And... Usopp?! Also, a big thug with a ducktail... Who's that?" Paulie crossed his arms, "There's no one like that except Franky."

The round operator resumed muttering to his friend, "The fourth man... And to think that the fifth man is Franky..." They both teared up, "Poor Paulie-san... Maybe it'd be better if he flatly gives up..." Paulie caught their stare once more, "What's with you guys?!"

The shipwright that gave Nami the letter walked up to her and held out a small transponder snail, "Um... Also, this was with that letter." She took the snail, "I see. So he'll call this one." Paulie looked at her, "Then he foresaw where Nico Robin was going to be? That's amazing!"

Nami nodded, "Yeah. For the time being, Robin has Sanji-kun. We'll definitely go to Enies Lobby, too!" They met back up with Chopper and Nami explained the situation and the reindeer smile up at her, "Is that right?! So Sanji went to the station after that?" She nodded, "So, anyway, no matter what means we take to follow the sea train, we can't do anything unless we find Luffy and Zoro first. I'm not mistaken about those directions they flew to. So search those areas."

Paulie got back on his Yagara and Tazz climbed on into the back seat before he started forward, "Why are you sitting back there?" She blinked at him, "Well, there's plenty of room now..." He reached back and grabbed the back of her shirt before lifting her and bringing her forward.

He moved back on his seat and placed her in the space between his legs on the bench. She blushed and leaned against him, "You seem to like doing this..." He smirked a bit and wrapped an arm around her waist, "Maybe I do."

After a while of searching for Luffy and Zoro, Paulie began to lean against Tazz as his wounds finally began to take a toll on him. She looked up and him before turning a bit to hold him up, "Paulie?" A shipwright pulled back to be next to Paulie's Yagara, "Foreman! It must be hard to move, right? Why don't you take a little break?"

Paulie turned his head a bit, "Idiot! This is nothing. Hurry up and find those two! Did someone let Iceburg-san know what's going on?" The shipwright looked ahead, "Two men went to give a report to him." Tazz frowned and put a hand on Paulie's cheek, "Don't push yourself to hard..."

He sighed and put his hand over hers, "I'm fine." He resumed called for Luffy and Tazz joined in. After getting off the Yagara, Paulie and Tazz walked over to a group of shipwrights that were looking over a ledge and murmering.

Paulie walked up with Tazz right next to him, "Hey, what's the matter?!" One of them turned towards the two, "Ah, Paulie-san! Please take a look!" Tazz's eyes widened when they looked out, seeing a vast area of land exposed as the water ebbed away, "What the...!"

Paulie just watched, "Can the tide ebb this much?" A shipright behind him spoke up, "I've never seen something like this before." Paulie narrowed his eyes, "Just how big of a wave is coming this time? The backstreets are gonna be completely swallowed up."

Another craftsman looked concerned, "There aren't any people in the backstreets, right?! If there are, they'll die instantly!" Tazz frowned and put her hand in Paulie's and he squeezed it lightly as they both stared at the sea bed. Everyone looked over when they heard shouting and saw Nami running towards the backstreets.  
They began chasing after her only to be stopped by Paulie as he released Tazz's hand as he walked forward, "Don't follow her! It's not like all of you going is enough to save her! It's the sea we're up against! You'll just end up sharing her fate!" She followed right behind him as he continued speaking, "If something happens, I will handle things myself. You guys stay back!" He went to the top of the stairs and watched Nami jump onto the side and leaping to a roof a good distance away.

He looked at where she was heading, "So, she's headed for Straw Hat?" After a few tense moments, everyone gasped as the wave finally began to rush forward. Tazz grabbed on to Paulie's arm in alarm as he stared at the large wave.

Tazz grinned when Luffy broke the buildings he was stuck between and Zoro cut the chimney in half to free himself. Her joy turned to fear as the large wave continued up the bridge and she released Paulie's arm to cover her mouth as she gasped. When the wave pulled back a bit and revealed that the blond man had ran down the bridge attached ropes to the Straw Hats to keep them from being sucked in to the water as the bridge began to collapse.

His shoes began to slip and Tazz ran down, wrapping her arms around his waist and keeping him steady. Suddenly the bridge shook and they slipped further towards the water and Paulie gripped the ropes tighter as they slid through his hands, ending up drawing blood from his palms. He tugged hard and pulled the Straw Hats from the wave as it receded and they all fell back.

Paulie panted, "We're not safe yet! Run! Run to the shipbuilding island!" Zoro picked up Chopper and Luffy picked up Nami as they started running. Paulie grabbed Tazz's hand and pulled her up, keeping a hold on her hand as they dashed to safety.

They jumped up onto the platform just as the bridge collapsed. Paulie groaned as they hit the ground and Tazz landed on top of him. She stayed there for a moment to catch her breath before she sat up, straddling his waist, "You okay, Paulie?"

He looked up at her and nodded, not even caring about the position they were in, "Yeah..." She moved off of him as he sat up and she took one of his hands, examining the wound, "This looks petty bad..." He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle."

She let his hand go so he could rummage through his pockets in search of his lighter. She ran a hand through her hair with a sigh criss-crossing her legs and putting her hands on her knees, "This is one hell of a storm..." Paulie nodded as he lit his cigar, "Yeah. But seriously... That was reckless!"

Luffy laid on his back on the ground and looked at Paulie, "Thanks. You saved us, rope guy." Nami rubbed her arms, "I was shocked! So that's Aqua Laguna... I still can't stop shaking." Tazz looked over at Paulie as he continued trying to light his cigar, "I don't think that's gonna work..."

He sighed before lowering his lighter and looking to the side, "If a big one like that hit us every year, this island would be long gone. This year's Aqua Laguna is different." Kokoro's voice piped up, "You guys are really crazy. I'm surprised you survived." Luffy sat up, "Ah! Monster Granny. So you were on this island?"

She looked at the straw hat boy, "Of course! If we stayed in the middle of the sea like that, wed drown!" Chimney popped out from behind Kokoro, "Ah! Pirate guy! You were incredible! Like, wham!" Zoro finally managed to pry Chopper from his face, "Are you trying to suffocate me?! This idiot lost consciousness while holding on to me."

Luffy looked over at the swordsman, "Oh...? Come to think of it, Zoro, why were you also being chased by the wave? Were you on the lower side of town?" He narrowed his eyes a bit, "What? W-Well, not particularly..." At that moment, Chopper woke up and explained, "He was stuck in a chimney."

Zoro looked at the reindeer and slowly brought his other hand up before strangling the poor creature. Luffy repeated the explanation and laughed, clapping his hands together, "You're so clumsy, Zoro! What'd you have to do to be in that situ-" Nami cut him off by grabbing his cheek, "Are you in any position to be laughing at others?! You both are super clumsy!"

Tazz let out an exasperated sigh before smiling, "How lively..." Paulie looked at her, "You excited to go with them?" She looked down at the ground, "To be honest, not really... I would've been if I hadn't met you..." He pulled her against his side, leaning his head down to kiss the top of her head, "Surely it's not like we won't see each other again."

Zoro glanced over at the couple before looking at Nami, "Why is Tazz being all cuddly with that guy?" The orange-haired woman looked over at them, "Huh?" She blinked before smiling, "He's her boyfriend."

He blinked before humming, "Is that so? Just wait till Ero-cook hears about that." Luffy put his hands down, "Then what happened to Sanji and Uso- I mean Sanji?" Nami looked at her captain, "Yeah... There're lots of things I need to tell you. You listen, too, Zoro." She then proceeded to explain.

Tazz looked up at Paulie with a sad smile, "I know that, but... Despite the tension that heppened between us today, I'm really gonna miss you..." He sighed softly and rubbed her arm, taking his cigar from his mouth, "I'm gonna miss you, too..." He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, which she gladly returned.

When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes, "I'm gonna wait for you. No matter how long it takes for you t come back, I'll wait." Tears welled up in her eyes and she jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and landing in his lap, "Paulie!" He caught her and leaned back on a hand to keep himself up as his other was placed on her lower back, "Whoa there! There's no reason to cry. Even if it takes a while for you to come back, you'll still have my transponder snail."

She sighed and nuzzled the crook of his neck, "I know... I'm just getting in the affection while it lasts." He let out a sigh before smiling, "Geez. You'll have plenty more when you come back, so look forward to it." He finally noticed all the stares he and Tazz were getting from the other shipwrights, making him blush brightly and glare, "The hell are you looking at?!"

They quickly turned away to give the couple some privacy and he grumbled while rubbing her back. He pulled away a bit and looked down at her, "Oi, look at me." She sniffled softly before looking up at him.

He moved his hand from the ground to her cheek, unintentionally smearing a bit of blood on her though neither of them seem to care, "I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but... I love you. I know we met just this week, but it's really how I feel..." She smiled softly and put her hand over his on her cheek, "I love you, too, Paulie." He leaned down and kissed her again, this one holding many more emotions than their previous kisses.


	15. To the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang heads out to Enies Lobby.

Paulie pulled back and rubbed her cheek before looking over at the Straw Hats when Luffy made a decision, "Let's sail out right away and follow them!" Zoro stood, "There's no other way." Luffy gave a determined look, "We're off...to rescue Robin!"

Luffy turned to Paulie as Tazz slid out of his lap to sit next to him once more, "Oi, rope guy. Please let us use a ship. No, rather than a ship, isn't there any other sea train leaving?" Paulie gave a hard stare at the boy, "Puffing Tom is the only sea train in this world. It's a miraculous ship that is the result of the combined efforts of a team led by a legendary shipwright." Luffy took a step forward, "Then, let us borrow a ship. The strongest and fasted one in this town!"

Tazz flinched a bit when Paulie raised his voice, "Enough already, you idiots! Didn't you see what just happened?! You were almost pulled out to sea by that wave!" Tazz looked at him, "Paulie..." One of the shipwrights added in, "He's right! There's no way you can set out to sea right now!"

Another chimed in, "Are you stupid?!" Paulie resumed his part, "Even with the usual Aqua Laguna, no ship has made it through! You saw the collapsing backstreets, didn't you?! The town that had never been damaged by Aqua Laguna up until now...is now wrecked. How terrible... On top of that, the Aqua Laguna this year is incomparably huge. If you put out a ship now, even if you challenge it with the biggest galleon, it'll shatter the ship immediately. I can't let you sail out when I know you'll die." Paulie began to stand and Tazz looked up at him as he patted his pants off, "Wait until morning. Once the storm passes, there's no problem letting you borrow a ship."

He turned to the other shipwrights, "Oi, you guys go to the evacuation site or someplace. We're done searching for missing people. It wouldn't be funny if you got taken out to sea by the wave while just standing around." They gave an affirmative and Nami began to speak, "If... If we are to wait until morning, can our wish come true? I know Enies Lobby. When I heard it was a Government island, I remembered something. Isn't that the place... Isn't that the place where the Gates of Justice are?" Paulie's eyes widened and Tazz stood up and looked at him.

Zoro crossed his arms, "What's that?" Nami kept her gaze on Paulie, "Enies Lobby is a Government-owned judicial island. What's there is a court in name only. Being taken to Enies Lobby itself is considered to be proof of guilt. After passing through this empty court without stopping, criminals soon reach huge, cold steel doors. These doors are called the Gates of Justice. Once criminals go through them, they won't see sunlight ever again-- they're doors of despair! This is because there are only two places that you can reach after sailing out from the harbor beyond these gates. One is the greatest military force for justice in the world-- Navy headquarters. The other is Impel Down, the large, deep-sea prison where torture rooms and gallows stand side-by-side, that holds vicious prisoners who once ran amok all over the world. In other words, Enies Lobby is a judicial institution that criminals are just dumped into without being shown any mercy. Isn't that right?! Robin's got a bounty on her head. No matter where she's taken, she'll see hell beyond that point! Each moment we spend here talking, she gets closer to the Gates of Justice! There's no way we can wait until morning!"

A tense silence filled the air before Paulie broke it, "If you know that much, I've got only one thing to say. Even if the sea were calm and you were able to sail out, you shouldn't go there. Don't forget that you guys yourselves are pirates. As you said, Enies Lobby is the front door that leads to the World Government's hub. Naturally, battle lines are drawn up taking that into account. No pirate would think to get back crew members taken to that island...because it's crystal clear what would happen." He took a step forward, "Are you trying to pick a fight with the hub of the World Government?!" Luffy also took a step forward after a moment, "Then, we'll...steal a ship and go! We're gonna sail out now!" A wave crashed into the island, sending several shipwrights flying. Luffy glared at Paulie, "Our friends are waiting! Don't stand in our way!"

Paulie pulled some rope from his sleeve, "Fine. I'll take you on!" Tazz looked at him bewildered, "Paulie?!" He just glanced at her before looking back at her brother, "They're not gonna listen to reason. If you don't wanna watch, then go home."

She took a step back and looked between Paulie and Luffy, "Please...don't do this..." Zoro drew a sword and Nami got out her Clima Tact as Chopper pawed at the ground. Before anyone could attack, Kokoro cut in, "Hold it, you guys!"

They all looked at the older woman as she walked forward, "It's you who's wrong here, Straw Hat. Paulie is right, you idiot." Luffy turned to face her, clenching his fists "Shut up! It's none of-" She interrupted him, "None of my business...huh? Well, listen. If we let you be, you're gonna risk your lives, aren't you? Look. If there exists a ship that can get through that Aqua Laguna, it could only be a sea train built by a legendary man."

Luffy frowned and leaned forward, "But it's not here right now! That's why we're trying to go in a ship!" She turned away, "If you're prepared to die, then come with me. I'll give you a ride...on a sea train!" She began leading the Straw Hats away and after a few moments, Paulie followed after.  
Tazz jogged forward to catch up to him, "What are you doing?!" He continued forward, "What's it look like? I'm going with them!" She frowned and took his hand, "But you're too injured!"

He squeezed her hand and looked at her, "I'm fine." She sighed and squeezed his hand back, "Fine, but I'm coming, too." He looked at her for a moment before sighing and looking back ahead, "I guess I have no right to tell you no... Just stick with me, okay?"

She nodded and they continued tailing the others, following them to an underground warehouse, unknowing of Tilestone and Lulu following them in turn. They sneaked inside and slipped under the tarp covering the coal cart while the others were distracted. She gently took his hand and looked at him as he peered out from under the tarp and coughed a bit.

After a few hard bumps, Paulie moved to his back and pulled Tazz on top of him to soften the blows, wrapping his arms around her waist. She blushed and pinched his cheek before pulling it, "Don't use yourself as a cushion in your condition!" He winced and tightened his arms around her, "Okay, okay! I got it! Let go of my cheek!"

She released it before pressing a kiss to the red spot. A couple of stifled, masculine giggles reached their ears and they were reminded that they weren't the only ones hiding in the cart. Paulie growled and looked at the other occupants, "Shut up!"

Once the train got on the railway, Paulie and Tazz flew back, him hitting the back first before she was thrown in to him. He grunted and held her to him so she would be tossed around and she looked back at him, "Paulie! Are you okay?!" He nodded and let out a tense breath, "Yeah. Just a little sore..."

A little bit later, they made their way into the actual car and sat on the ground. Tazz sat in front of Paulie and leaned back on her hands, wincing a bit as the wounds on her chest and stomach were tweaked from the position. The blond looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

She nodded and put a hand over one of the wounds and saw that it started bleeding a small bit, "Y-Yeah..." Chimney and Luffy simultaneously let out a breath, "Ahh... I thought I was going to die." Kokoro put her hands on her hips and looked at them, "Well, obviously! Geez, I told you, didn't I?! I said you'd get blown away!"

Luffy looked at the older woman, "Anyway, that acceleration sure was crazy!" Kokoro crossed her arms, "Geez..." Tilestone closed his eyes, "Yeah, really, that scared me!"

Lulu rubbed his back, "I hit my lower back." Paulie and Zoro both sat with their arms and legs crossed as the swordsman spoke, "Hold on a sec... There are weird guys in here. And Tazz." Lulu and Tilestone looked at the green-haired man, "What?! Who are they?!"

Paulie looked at them incredulously, "You guys!" Zoro mimicked the blond's expression, "You, too!" Luffy began eating as Paulie explained why he was there, "Tazz and I decided to go with you guys. No matter how hard I tried to stop you, you didn't stop. The enemy you'd go this far to rescue your friend from is also the culprit who tried to kill Iceburg-san. In addition, there are lots of things I wanna say to them!"

Tilestone raised his fists and laughed, "Paulie! We're not gonna let you steal all the glory! Thinking that we'd be able to find Iceburg-san's assassins if we followed you, we hid in the tender together!" Lulu turned to Paulie, "So...it seems we were right." The man pushed down his bedhead and it popped out from his hand, "Let us join you guys in this battle."

Zambai spoke up from the other side of the small car, "Also, of course...the foes you're gonna get revenge on took Big Bro Franky as well." Kiwi spoke up next, "That's right! And we clearly know who they are!" Mozu spoke after her sister, "Hey, Galley-La! How are you gonna take responsibility if something happens to Bro?!"

Paulie looked at them, "Shut up! It's Iceburg-san who's endured the most!" Tilestone once more raised his fists, "What are you guys gonna do about it?! Paulie! First, explain it to us! What's going on?!" Lulu looked at the blond, "He's right, Paulie. You know the true culprit, don't you? Just tell us. We're not that dense. We have a rough idea of who it is. We're not gonna be surprised."  
Paulie let out a sigh and watched Tazz as she draped herself back against his lap, leaning her head against his stomach as she reached out to the bag of food, "Oi, Lu. Can you hand me some meat? I don't have much energy since I've been running on fumes all day..." Luffy continued eating the meat in his hand and grabbed a couple of piece of meat from the bag before stretching his arm to hand them to Tazz. She took them with a thanks and bit into the meat, humming as she chewed before swallowing and holding it up to Paulie.

He looked at it for a moment before taking a bite, waiting until he swallowed to explain, "Well, I guess you could guess if they suddenly disappeared for no reason. Then, I'll tell you straight. The true identities of those masked men are...Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno from the bar. It was them who tried to kill Iceburg-san!" He looked over at the two other foremen who were white as a sheet and gaping with shock. Paulie snapped at them, "What?! You never even guessed that?!"

Lulu repeated the excuse that Paulie had given the shipwrights earlier, "B-But you said they went back to their hometowns!" Paulie glared at them as he stood up after easing Tazz off of him, "Why would they, during an emergency like this?!" Tilestone and Lulu both grasped for thought as Lulu responded, "We thought it was Michael and Hoychael from the backstreets."

Tilestone nodded, "That's right!" Paulie continued to shout at them, "Who the hell are they?!" He got an incredulous look from the two foremen and Lulu spoke, "What?! You don't know them?! They're famous on the backstreets!" Tilestone nodded again, "That's right!"

Paulie's brow twitched in irritation, "How would I know?! To start with, you guys are--" Luffy slapped his hands on his knees, "All right! Boy, I ate a lot. I'm finally full." All the occupants in the car looked to him, sans Tazz who was still laying on her back eating.

The boy stood, "Well, then... Although we got in fights with both the Franky Family and the Galley-La shipwrights, we're all going after the same enemy now. The strongest among the guys we're gonna fight is that pigeon guy. He's mine. I'm definitely gonna beat him up." Tazz finished the piece of meat she was eating and threw the bone at Luffy's head, it merely bouncing off harmlessly, "Lu's right. It's pointless to keep fighting when we have the same goal."

She began eating the second piece of meat and Zoro spoke up, "This is a battle to get back what those four took from us. In any case, if we don't reach them, nothing will end." Chimney and Gonbe pressed their faces to a window, "Ahh! Grandma! Grandma! It's Aqua Laguna!" Kokoro looked over at them, "Oh? It's already here?"

Nami went to the window the little girl and her pet were at before opening the window, "Chimney! Let me see it!" She stuck her head out of the window and her eyes widened, "This is bad! Kokoro-san! Is it okay for you to leave the engine room at a time like this?! We somehow need to dodge that high wave!" Kokoro laughed, "I told you, didn't I? That we can't control Rocketman. Even when we want to operate it, nothing works, including the brake. My job ended when the train got on the railway. Hence, the train is always running at full throttle. No one can stop it anymore."

Nami's shoulders slumped, "Oh, no... Luffy! If we don't do something, the train will crash into the big wave! Hey, Luffy!" Luffy ignored her and held his hand out, "When we have the same goal...it's senseless to fight separately." Zambai nodded and both he and Paulie grasped arms with Luffy, "You're right."

He furrowed his brows seriously, "Listen. We're comrades. Our friends are also in the train that left before us. Our fighting force will still increase. Guys! Don't let that big wave beat us! We'll all achieve our goal! Let's go!"


	16. Nearing the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally gets closer to the enemy and their goal.

Kokoro looked out the window, "Now, guys! Show me what you can do about this wave!" Zambai ordered his group, "All right! Fire all the cannonballs we have at the wave! Franky Family! Don't be intimidated by the wave! Prepare the cannons!" Suddenly, Nami's chest began ringing and she pulled her shirt as she looked down, "Ah! The portable transponder snail is ringing! It's from Sanji-kun!"

She answered the transponder snail as Tilestone, Paulie, and Tazz went out to the top of the train. Tilestone aimed his demi-cannon as the wave and fired. Paulie kept a grip on his handheld cannon and Tazz did the same, "We're not even making a dent. Should have expected as much."

Tazz looked over at him, "We'll think of something!" Zambai called over them, "No! Those puny cannons won't work!" They all looked up at the roof and saw Zambai in front of a gargantuan cannon, "Guys! Stay back! Leave it to the Franky Family's special cannon!

The cannon fired and only made a splash in the wave. They continued firing all of the cannons at the wave. After a bit, Luffy and Zoro climbed on top on the train and Zoro looked at the group, "Oi! Keep firing at the front!"

Paulie looked at them with his brows furrowed, "What're you guys gonna do?!" Tazz smirked a bit and lightly nudged his side with her elbow before kneeling and bracing herself, "Just wait and see." She resumed firing as Luffy and Zoro turned to face the wave as the latter got his swords, "We'll fire...a cannon."

They all paused in their firing as the other two made their way up from and one of the Kairiki Destroyers shouted, "Wh-What are they doing?!" The one next to him spoke, "One is weaponless and the other is using swords. What're they trying to do?" The third turned to the one next to him, "They told us to keep firing."

Zambai yelled at them, "Enough talking! Just back them up!" They all resumed firing and Paulie glanced at Tazz from the corner of his eye, "So what is it they have planned?" She grinned and kept firing her cannon, "A combo."

Everyone except Tazz gaped at the huge hole that appeared straight through the wave after Luffy and Zoro fired their attack. She put her hand to her mouth, "Oi, Lu, Zoro! Good job!" Luffy gave her a peace sign and Zoro threw a thumbs up as the train passed through the hole.

Paulie continued to stare in shock and amazement as they went through to the other side before looking at Tazz, "You knew they'd do that?!" She shrugged, leaning against her cannon after setting one end on the ground and put her other hand on her hip, "Well, something like that." Paulie knelt down as he looked back at her brother and his swordsman, "Naturally, I was prepared to die. What incredible guys..."

Tazz crouched next to him and grinned, "That's my brother and Zoro for you!" They eventually entered the car once more and after a while, Nami began changing clothes that she seemed to pull out of thin air. Tazz jumped up and clapped her hand over Paulie's eyes before he could notice.

Once the orange-haired woman finished, Tazz let out a sigh and removed her hand from Paulie's face and the man quickly realized that Nami had changed outfits into a more exposing one. He glowered at the ground as the navigator looked at Tilestone, Zambai, and Lulu who all had nosebleeds, "What're you guys doing?" Paulie scowled at her, "Don't 'What're you guys doing?' us! How dare you so openly change in front of everyone, you shameless girl!"

The three with nosebleeds gave a thumbs up, "Nice shamelessness." They then proceeded to collapse while Nami raised a hand, "I couldn't help it. We only have one car." Paulie almost blew a gasket, "Hide your belly! Belly and legs!"

He turned to the twins, "You guys, too, Square Sisters! People like you corrupt society!" Kiwi pointed at him, "Shut up, you shy man." Mozu mimicked her sister, "Shy man."

Paulie sucked in all the smoke from his cigar in one go, "You little..." Kokoro gave a laugh, "If you like, I'll change too." Tilestone, Zambai, and Lulu bowed towards the older woman, "I'm sorry, but please don't! Seriously!"

Tazz blinked before looking down at her still tattered clothes that were ripped at the seams, "I should probably change.... My clothes are basically rags as it is..." Paulie looked over at her and blinked, having just realized the state her clothes were in and he quickly shrugged off his jacket and held it open in front of her to hide her from the others, much to the displeasure of Tilestone, Zambai, and Lulu. Paulie glared at them, "Oi! She isn't yours to see!"

Tazz quickly finished changing after having pulled her new outfit from the same magical space Nami did and she tapped Paulie on the shoulder to let him know, "I'm done now." He looked over at her and put his jacket back on. His eyes widened when he saw the tight, black, cropped sleeveless shirt with a high collar and he blushed brightly, standing in front of her to hide her once more, "Dammit, Tazz! Hide your belly!"

She chuckled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "It's fine!" He looked at the rest of her outfit and saw that she was wearing camouflage cargo pants tucked into her boots and he sighed, "At least you're wearing pants..." She trotted around him and sat down with him following.

He stood behind her and she watched some of the others begin goofing around. Zoro scowled at them, "This is no time for playing!" Lulu and Zambai looked at him, "We're bored."

The swordsman sat on a barrel, "Polish your weapons or something, you idiots!" Paulie put his hand on the back of his head, "Well, um... I'll talk to those guys later, so..." Zoro looked over at them and an awkward silence filled the air as they looked away. 

Tazz leaned back against Paulie's legs and waved a hand, "It's fine, Zoro. In a situation like this, we need to keep morale up." Zoro sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "That's true..." The blond man looked down at Tazz and stooped down a bit to ruffle her hair.

After Luffy called out that he saw a train ahead, almost everyone in the cart grabbed their weapons, "It's gotta be Puffing Tom, right?!" They all ran forward and tried to cram into the small opening at the front of the cart to see. Tazz stood off to the side with a sweat-drop as she watched the mass of bodies squirming around, "Guys..."

Once they all squeezed through, they went to the top of the train and Tazz sat down and leaned back against the wall, grabbing a piece of meat from the quickly diminishing sack along with a bottle of booze. She bit down on the cork of the bottle and pulled it out before spitting it out and taking a swig. After gulping some of it down, she took a bite of the meat and spoke while chewing, "Man, It's been a while since I've been to a party or even gone out drinking..."

Paulie popped back in to the car, "This isn't good! If we keep going like this, we'll collide with them! Granny! Where's the brake?!" Kokoro looked at him and put a hand on her knee, "I said it doesn't work, didn't I? Do something." Paulie poked his head out of the window, "Unless we move those cars out of our way, we'll take a lot of damage, too!"

His eyes widened when the cars were suddenly cut in half by Zoro before he looked at Tazz, "Your brother sure has some crazy strong crewmates..." She nodded and finished her meat before setting the empty bottle down and standing. She looked out the window before opening it, changing her arms into their fighting form and reaching out.

When she pulled her arm back in, she had a large chunk of sea kin flesh in her hands and she grinned before taking a bite. Paulie just watched her with wide eyes, "What the hell are you doing?!" She swallowed the bite in her mouth and pouted at him, "It was fresh so it would've been a waste not to get some."

She took another bite and hummed at the taste and her tail slipped out and waved happily, "Delicious!" The others soon reentered the car and Paulie looked over at them, "What was all the commotion?" Zambai pointed at Zoro, "H-He defeated Ship-Slasher T-bone!"

Paulie hummed before turning to Tazz, smiling a bit at seeing her still chowing down happily on the sea king meat. Zoro walked over to the barrel from earlier and sat on it before falling asleep and Zambai put a blanket over him. Paulie walked over to Tazz and sat down and she sat next to him before holding the meat out to him, "Wanna try some? It's like sashimi."

He blinked before putting his hand on her head, "Maybe some other time." She shrugged and bit down on it again, "More for me, I guess." She shoved the rest in her mouth, making her cheeks puff out as she chewed.

Paulie chuckled and poked her cheek, "You're like your brother in more ways than I originally thought." She swallowed before grinning at him, "When I come back, I'll catch a sea king and make something tasty!" He smiled and pulled her against his sigh, "I'll look forward to it."

Luffy shouted from the front of the train, "Turn back!" Lulu looked up as Tilestone sipped tea, "Hey, he said we're turning back." Tilestone put his cup in his hand and turned it, "Oh, yeah? That's a relief."

Lulu looked back in front of him, "Well then, we should get ready to turn back, huh?" After a collective, shocked exclamation, Chopper stood next to a sleeping Zoro, "What about Robin! What about Usopp?! Hey! What are we gonna do about them?!" Paulie looked in the direction Luffy was in, "What's that guy thinking?!"

Lulu and Tilestone looked up at the ceiling, "Straw Hat! Why are we turning back?!" Luffy yelled from his spot, "You've got it wrong! I was telling that frog that jumped on the railway to turn back!" At his words, Chimney and Gonbe jumped up, "It's Yokozuna!"

Paulie and Tazz stood as she furrowed her brows, "Frog...?" The train shook and Paulie put Tazz against the wall and braced his forearms on both sides of her, "Shit!" Tazz rubbed the back of her head and winced a bit, "Did we hit it?"

When the train stopped shaking, Paulie moved away from Tazz and looked at her, "You alright?" She nodded and they moved over to the center of the car right before it started shaking. Paulie winced, "Ow, ow, ow... What on earth is going on with this sea train?"

Tazz sighed and her shoulders slumped, "I think Luffy may be fighting the frog..." Paulie looked at the others, "Oi, are you guys okay?" Zambai stuck his out out of a window, "Our king bulls disappeared!"

Paulie crossed his arms, "Well, it's probably us who disappeared. We probably got derailed." Chopper looked at the blond with wide eyes, "What're we gonna do?!" He frowned, "'What're we going to do?!' We can't do anything about it."

Chopper began screaming and turned to Zoro before staring in shock and the others followed his gaze. Paulie's eyes widened upon realizing the swordsman was still asleep, "You're kidding me...!" Zoro woke up and yawned like he had the best nap of his life before he looked at the others who were watching Zambai with his head out the window, "Hm? What're you guys doing?"

Zambai kept watching the spectacle happening at the engine room, "That frog from earlier and granny are talking." After a while, it is heard that Enies Lobby is in sight as well as the Franky Family along with Sanji and a person in a mask. Tazz pumps a fist in the air as the others cheer.

After meeting back up, Sanji got on Rocketman along with the masked person, who revealed himself to be Sogeking, though Tazz certainly knew better than her brother. Upon seeing Tazz, Sanji got hearts in his eyes and knelt in front of her, "Tazz-chwan~! How I have missed your beauty~!"

Tazz laughed at his antics and waved a hand, "Easy there, Sanji. It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other." Sanji jumped up and swirled around her, "But every second I am away from you is like an eternity!" Paulie frowned and put his arm around Tazz, pulling her back against him and making Sanji stop and looked at him with glare, "Who're you?"

Zoro smirked and leaned closer to the cook, "Her boyfriend." Sanji took a second before he turned as white as a sheet and fell to his knees, the sound of his heart shattering almost audible to the others. He slammed his fists to the ground and sobbed, "Dammit! How could this have happened?!"

Paulie just watched with furrowed brows and Tazz looked up at him with a placating smile, "Don't worry about him. He's always like that around pretty ladies." He hugged her tighter, "Doesn't mean I have to like it... I don't want anyone flirting with my woman..." She turned around in his embrace and reached up to peck his cheek, "I wouldn't have eyes for any one other than you, Paulie."

Sanji sulked in a corner as a gloomy aura emitted from him and he muttered the words Tazz and boyfriend over and over. Tazz sweat-dropped at him before smiling at Paulie before they moved over and sat near the back of the car. After watching 'Sogeking' teach Luffy and Chopper his theme song, Sanji looked at Nami, "Nami-san."

She looked over at him, "Hm? What is it, Sanji-kun?" Sanji closed his eye for a moment before moving his gaze over the others, "And all you idiots here with Nami-san and Tazz-chan... Before we go rescue Robin-chan, let me tell you one thing." He began explaining what the Buster Call is along with Robin's experience with it.

He looked back to Nami, "So, CP9 is taking advantage of the root cause of Robin-chan's vulnerability. It's not that I'm trying to make excuses for not being able to get her back. But even if we march into our enemy's territory, it doesn't necessarily mean that she'll let us help her." Luffy raised his arms, "That doesn't matter! I'm not gonna stand for this! That darn Robin!" Nami interrupted him by hitting his head with her Clima Takt, "Why Robin?!"

Luffy turned to her, "Why not?! Why the heck doesn't she want us to come rescue her?!" Nami leaned forward, "She's suffering thinking about what might happen to us after she's rescued!" Luffy stayed resolute, "Who cares about that?! If we don't do anything, she'll be killed, right?! There's no way she wants to die, so we'll rescue her!"

Nami watched her captain turn around, "Of course that's true, but..." Zoro cut her off, "Don't bother. Either way, what we have to do is the same. We'll just rescue her." Tazz put her hand on her chin as she looked down, "I can understand why she's so reluctant for us to rescue her. If I was in her situation, I'd probably do everything in my power to keep my loved ones out of harm's way, even if it meant sacrificing myself or making them hate me."

Paulie looked down at her and draped an arm over her shoulders, "I'd probably do the same as your idiot brother and rescue you no matter what." She looked up at him and smiled at him, leaning against his side. Luffy put his hand on his shoulder as he rolled it while walking forward, "We'll bring down the whole place! There's a technique that I wanna try, too!"

Paulie pulled out a piece of paper that looked like a map, "Guys, take a look at this. I've been to that island once for railway maintenance. I drew this based on my vague recollection of it. This is a rough sketch of what the geography of Enies Lobby looks like. The Gates of Justice are in the back of the island, and they seem to be accessible only via the Tower of Law." Luffy looked at the dark area around the island, "What the hell is this? What's this dark area?" Paulie pointed at it, "It indicates a waterfall."

Luffy looked at the blond, "A waterfall?" Paulie draped his arm against his knee, "Well, you'll know what I mean once you get there. If we can't recover Nico Robin and Franky on this straight path, from the main gate to the Gates of Justice, we will have lost." Luffy furrowed his brows, "Why?! No matter where Robin is taken to, we can just keep going after them until we get her back!"

Nami looked at her captain, "I explained this before we left Water Seven, didn't I? The only destinations beyond those gates are Navy Headquarters and the deep-sea prison. So we have to settle this matter before that at any cost." Tazz stared at the map, "In other words, once the gates close...your fate is sealed." Paulie took Tazz's hand in his, "She's right. That being said, even if we all rush in, if we encounter CP9, you guys are the only ones who can defeat them. After the train ride together, I now know well how strong you guys are. So, you guys stay and wait on the sea for five minutes and charge into the main island in Rocketman through the main gate."


	17. Enies Lobby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finally gets to Enies Lobby and they raise hell.

Zambai spoke up from behind, "We'll go in first and break open the main gate and main island front gate so that the train can pass through. After that, we'd like you to keep on moving now matter how many of us fall. We're only a little over 60 people, but our enemy's forces are probably well above 2,000 to 3,000. We'd like you guys to go after only CP9, avoiding unnecessary battles." Luffy gave him a determined look, "Okay, got it!" Tazz stifled a small laugh and leaned towards Paulie, covering her mouth as she whispered, "'Unnecessary' and 'plan' aren't in my brother's vocabulary."

Kokoro announced through the speaker, "Okay, guys! We're now at the front of the island! Take a good look at the sky behind Enies Lobby. Those are the Gates of Justice. They never open all the way. When criminals go through them, they open just a little. And, just behind those doors is a nest of sea kings, just like the Calm Belt, the sea areas that lie on both sides of the Grand Line. So no ordinary ship can go in there. I don't know how, but the Navy has a means of passing through there safely. In other words, just like the pirate girl said, if you want to get back the criminals taken away, you've got until the moment before they go through those gates to do it! Now, there's no time to lose!" Everyone began to prepare themselves and the twins and foremen and Tazz along with Nami and 'Sogeking' ran to the back of the car before Zambai turned around, "Well then, as we planned, we're gonna go in first! Leave the backup to us!" Zoro pointed two fingers at Nami and 'Sogeking', "Oi, you two! Aren't you supposed to be with us?!"

As the Straw Hats gathered, Chopper looked around, "Hm? Where's Luffy?" Nami looked at him, "What? He was right here up until now." Upon realizing that Luffy launched himself to the fence, the whole car gave a simultaneous cry, "WHAT?!"

Paulie furrowed his brows, "Why the hell is he doing things on his own?!" Zambai mimicked Paulie's expression, "That man doesn't have a clue about the plan at all!" Tazz crossed her arms with a small smirk, "Called it."

Nami fell to her knees, "That was a waste." Sanji crossed his arms, "He said he got it, didn't he?" 'Sogeking' spoke up, "He's not the type to wait five minutes." The others went to the Franky Family's boat and Lulu, Zambai, and Paulie jumped in the very front.

Tazz hopped in next to the blond and looked at the train car, "I feel like I should be up there with them, but... This isn't really my battle to fight." Paulie glanced at her before looking back ahead, "Do what you think is right." She took his hand and squeezed it as she got a determined look, "I'm going to stay here and fight alongside you."

He squeezed her hand back before turning to face her. She looked up at him with an arched brow, "Wha-" She was cut off when he pressed his lips to hers as he took her face in his hands.

He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, ignoring all the hoots and whistles behind them. Tazz slid her eyes shut and returned the kiss before he pulled back. She blushed and put her hands over his, "What was that for?"

He smirked and turned back to the front, "Good luck." She let out an exasperated sigh before smiling and turning to face the same direction. They once more grasped hands and Tazz pointed forward with her free hand, "Let's raise some hell!" Everyone yelled out in agreement and they prepared for their attack.

When they breached the fence, they jumped off and began their attack. Tazz and Paulie ran side-by-side before she lunged forward, flipping forward and landing on her hands on a discarded halberd before flipping the rest of the way back to her feet. She spun the halberd in her hands as she resumed running next to Paulie who gave her an impressed smile, "Pretty smooth."

She grinned back at him before she jumped over a sword that swung her way. She flipped over her assailant and landed behind the soldier and swiped at his back with her newly acquired weapon. Paulie took out several enemies with his ropes before pointing at the main gate, "Go inside through the side doors and open the gate!"

After the gate was opened, they all ran through it before Zambai called out to the foremen, twins, and Tazz to help him with something. The foremen and Tazz climbed up on one of the King Bulls while Zambai and the twins got on the other and they moved them forward. The King Bulls rushed ahead and bit down one of the giants that had appeared.

After the twins slashed up the giant's boot, Paulie jumped up and flipped forward, landing on the giant's shoulder before leaping down and typing his ropes into the giant's hair and tugging down while Zambai got on his chest and aimed a bazooka in his face before firing. The onslaught pushed the giant back into the wall of the gate. Tilestone and Lulu leaped off to preform their own attack to keep the giant pinned.

After mocking the other giant, he raised his club before bringing it down, aiming to crush the humans on the other giant but instead hitting his partner in the face and knocking him unconscious. The Franky Family and foremen cheered before setting their sights on the remaining giant. Tazz looked at Paulie and held her fist out with a smirk, "Can I help this time?"

He looked at her before sighing and returning the smirk, bumping his fist against hers, "Yeah." After fighting against the second giant, the gate was finally unlocked and before the giant could take out the Franky Family as they headed to the gate, Paulie tied the giant up with his rope. The King Bulls grabbed the rope and pulled, making the giant spin before they ran to the gate.

Tazz stood next to Paulie as they pushed with the others and the King Bulls and she shut her eyes, tensing her arms to draw more strength from them. Paulie watched the gate slowly open, "A little bit more!" Tazz let out a shout and took a step forward as she put more power into the push.

The gate finally flies open and they all rush through with the giant still spinning. Once he stopped spinning and was off-balance, Tazz ran up the back of one of the King Bulls, jumping from its head and rotating before landing a roundhouse kick to the back of his head to send him toppling forward. She landed in a crouch next to Paulie and stood before patting her pants off as he grinned at her, "Nice, babe!"

She blinked before looking at him with a smirk, "Babe? I like the sound of that." He blushed and lightly tapped his fist on the top of her head, "No time for teasing!" He rubbed her head, "I knew you were strong, but I didn't know you had heavy kicks, too."

She grinned and retrieved the halberd she had strapped to her back, "Well, now you know. My kicks aren't as strong as Sanji's, but I'd say they aren't to be taken lightly." He nodded and crossed his arms. A World Government agent stared up at them from the ground as the whole group stood on the giant's back, "A-Are you...the Straw Hats?!"

Zambai wasted no time responding, "That's right!" Paulie and Tazz sweat-dropped before Paulie's face became more serious, "That's not important. Let's hurry and move ahead!" Zambai put his bazooka on his shoulder, "All right! Guys! Now move ahead as far as you can!"

The sound of something flying towards him made Paulie turn only to be stabbed through the shoulder by a wrist blade. Tazz stepped forward as she and Lulu called his name. After making his attacker jump away, Paulie gripped his shoulder and Tazz put a hand on his back as she tried to look at the wound.

His attacker explained who his group was, Lulu spoke, "Dammit! They send one guard after another to block us!" The giant they were standing on stood and Tazz and the others jumped off and the giant was suddenly hit in the back by a flying Rocketman. Paulie watched and continued to hold his shoulder, "Th-They aren't coming out..."

A whirlwind of swords and kicks knocked back many soldiers and agents and the dust settled to show that it had been Zoro and Sanji. After the soldiers blew up the sea train, Nami appeared and created a thunder cloud that wipes out practically all of the surrounding enemies. The Straw Hats started running in the general direction that Luffy was in, leaving behind the rest of the alliance.

Tazz looked over at Paulie with a worried expression, "Are you okay?" He released his injured shoulder and nodded, "It's nothing I can't handle." They climbed up onto the yellow King Bull and went after the Straw Hats, bursting out from between two buildings when the pirates had gotten surrounded.

Paulie got out some rope and tossed it to them, "Grab hold!" He yanked them up onto the King Bull. When they landed on the carriage, Sanji sat with his arms thrown over the back of his seat, "Hey, you could've at least let us have a little fun."

Paulie kept the Bull moving towards the Court, "You idiot! Don't forget why you came here. This isn't where you should be focusing your energy." Sanji looked off to the side, "It's true that it'd take a whole day to fight this many enemies." Tazz was sat between Paulie and Lulu and she slung her arm over the back of the seat with her legs crossed ankle-over-knee and she looked back at Sanji, "Paulie's right. It's best to conserve your energy for the big fight."

She looked up at Paulie before she glanced over at Nami and Chopper who were talking about the Watchdogs trying to jump on. Sanji stood and looked at Paulie when he called him, "Hm?" Sanji climbed over the seats and stood next to the older blond, "What's the matter?"

Paulie held the reins out to him, "Take the reins." Paulie stepped over the seats along with Lulu, Tilestone, and Tazz until they reached the back. Paulie closed his eyes, "When you see...those guys, tell them...'You guys're fired.'"

Zoro gave his word as Paulie jumped up as two Watchdogs tried to jump on, "We won't let you!" He wrapped his ropes around their waists and pulled them back as he fell to the ground and Tazz jumped after him, wielding the halberd once more. Two more tried to jump onto the Bull and Lulu and Tilestone took them out before landing on the ground.

Tazz glanced at the halberd in her hands before spinning it and sticking it in the ground. She spread her legs to widen her stands and changed into her fighting form, horns sprouting, pupils slitting, and tail slipping out. She bashed her fists together and grinned widely, "Get ready to get your shit kicked in!" Paulie looked up at them and smirked, "We'll take care of these guys."

After a good while of fighting, the foremen and Tazz began to lose their energy and Paulie glanced around. She used her forearm to wipe some blood from her cheek and stood at Paulie's back as both sides waiting for the other to attack. Paulie looked back ahead, "He'll definitely...!"

Tazz looked back at him with a grin, "Of course he will!" The surrounding enemies started running at the two and someone shouted, "Bring down that rope guy and that woman!" Paulie glanced back at whoever shouted, "Not gonna happen!"

He turned and Tazz ducked as he threw a net over the approaching soldiers and agents and she slipped passed Paulie and rushed at the ones coming from behind him. They all halted at the deadly look in her eyes and she grabbed the nearest one by the face before throwing him into a few others.

She flipped to and spun on her hands, kicking any enemies close enough. She got back on her feet and continued attacking. After taking out more, she jumps back to her spot at Paulie's back.

After a bit longer, the ground began to shake as the two giants approached. Tazz stood next to Paulie and scowled, "Shit! Those guys are up! Wait..." She stared at the giants for a moment, "Something's different."

Paulie glanced at her, "What do you mean?" She narrowed her eyes and watched, "I don't know... Something feels off about them." As they grew closer, Paulie took a step back, "Oh, no... We don't have energy left to fight guys like them."

Tilestone fell to his knees and shut his eyes tightly, "Is this it for us?!" The giants pulled back their weapons and the foremen braced themselves and Paulie narrowed his eyes when they began attacking the soldiers and agents. After the giants took out the surrounding enemies, the foremen and Tazz climbed up onto Oimo's shoulder.

Paulie looked to 'Sogeking' as they continued to attack their former comrades, "Really, I can't believe it! To think that the troublesome gatekeepers are now on our side!" The self-proclaimed king of snipers gave a laugh, "It's thanks to the bond between warriors! Now, my brothers! The courthouse is very close now! Move forward!" The two giants finally reached the courthouse and jumped in front of the wave of enemies that were about to surge into the building.

Tazz looked down at the enemies and flexed her clawed fingers, "You know, back at the Galley-La main office, I saw how those guys moved to so fast that it looked like they disappeared. The would kick the ground more than ten times in a single moment." Paulie looked over at her as she grinned, "I'm gonna try it out!" He just watched as she jumped off Oimo's shoulder and spun forward to build momentum, "Sorry, Sanji, but I'm borrowing your Concasse move."

She flipped faster as she fell before slamming her heel against the ground, causing a large crater and the shock-wave that also resulted blew back a portion of the enemies. After landing, she closed her eyes and took a breath, recalling how the CP9 had performed their Soru. Paulie watched on with wide eyes before he gaped when she seemed to have disappeared.

A path was blown straight through the Marines and agents from where Tazz had been standing and she reappeared on the other side. She blinked and looked up at Paulie before grinning and giving him double peace signs. He smiled and watched her repeat the Soru a few more times.

Lulu leaned closer to the blond, "Your girlfriend sure is something." He nodded in agreement and blew out a puff of smoke, "She sure is..." After a moment, she jumped back to her previous position and panted heavily.

Paulie looked over at her, "You okay?" She nodded and wiped some sweat from her chin, "Yeah. My body isn't used to that technique yet, so I'll have to rest before I can do it again." Lulu peered at her passed Paulie, "That first kick when you jumped down was amazing! I think I felt the power from up here!"

She smiled at the man and nodded, "Yeah. It's actually a move that I picked up from Sanji. I'll have to get him to properly teach me some others since I want to strengthen my kicks." The foremen and Tazz got off of Oimo's shoulder and entered the courthouse just in time for Paulie ad Zambai to intercept the Chief Justice. Paulie pulled out his knife-lined rope and launched it towards the Chief Justice, "I'm not gonna let you do that!"

Zambai jumped up and slashed downwards with his sword, "This is the end of you!" The attacks tore right through the Chief Justice before the costume fell away to reveal that there were actually three men, "Too bad! We're actually the Chief Justice trio!" Zambai stepped back in shock, "Wh-What?!"

The one of the left began, "I, the Left Baskerville, am named Bas!" The one on the right followed, "I, the Right Baskerville, am named Kerville!" The one in the center ended the introduction, "I, the Center Baskerville, go by the name...Princess!" The two on the sides smacked Princess in the head, "What the heck?!"

Paulie, Zambai, and Tazz just watched with wide eyes and Paulie spoke, "So those three were just sticking together? That's all? What for?!" The trio swayed back and forth, "We're good friends!" Paulie snapped at them, "Shut up!"

A few moments after a trench mortar was fired at the lowering drawbridge to stop it, Rocketman burst through the door and sped towards the other side. Tazz's eyes widened with a grimace when she realized that she was right in the way of the sea train and she was about to jump up into the air to avoid it when her arm was grabbed and she was yanked out of the way and into a pair of strong arms.


	18. Buster Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Buster Call is invoked.

After having squeezed her eyes shut, Tazz realized that she was still alive and slowly opened them as the owner spoke, "We're leaving the rest to you, Straw Hat." She looked up and saw that it was Paulie who had pulled her out of the train's way. He looked down at her and smiled, hugging her to him, "You alright?"

She nodded and smiled back, "Yeah. Thanks." He nodded back and released her after a quick peck to her lips. She took a breath before using the Soru technique though she still wasn't adept at it.

After dashing forward in the blink of an eye, she jumped up and landed an ax-kick at the Marine in front of her, making him crash to the ground. She landed on her hands and spun, doling out more kicks to the nearest enemies. She pushed herself off the ground with her hands and grabbed a nearby World Government agent by the head with her legs before slamming him down.

Paulie just watched her in amazement and a marine that was about to attack him paused at seeing the woman go through in a whirlwind of fluid yet wild fighting moves. The marine lowered his sword and stood next to Paulie as they both watched her fight. After a moment, the soldier spoke up, "Damn... That woman is something else."

Paulie kept his eyes on Tazz, "Yeah. That's my girlfriend." The marine let out a hum, "Oh? Lucky." As if just realizing what they were doing, the two looked at each other before Paulie punched him, knocking him out.

He went back to fighting and soon ended up back-to-back with Tazz. After a moment, he felt her hand pushing his back down so that he was hunched over, "Sorry, Paulie!" She spun on her hand on his back and kicked the enemies around them.

After she jumped off of him, she looked at him, "Duck!" Once he did so, she took a deep breath before spewing out black flames at the marines and agents. Paulie felt the intense heat and glanced up to see the flames before they went away.

He turned to her with wide eyes, "What the hell was that?!" She grinned and gave a peace sign, "Another part of my devil fruit ability. I can breath fire." She turned away from him and went back to fighting with him doing the same.

After clearing the courthouse of marines and agents, Tazz reverted back to her normal form and put her hands on her hips. Her, the foremen, and Zambai look at the entrance as smoke pours through. Paulie listens to the shouting coming from outside, "The situation outside has changed?"

Zambai watched the doorway, "The giants who changed sides have been trying hard for us, but I guess they're at the end of their rope." Paulie's eyes widened when enemies began to surge inside and surround the remaining group. Tazz growled and changed back into her fighting form and stood next to Paulie, "Shit..."

It took three of the soldiers to pin her to the ground before someone put sea prism stone cuffs on her, making her go back to normal and sag against the floor with a weak groan as her tail fell limp. She was then pulled up into a sitting position and she was tied up with rope and put next to Paulie. She groaned and leaned against him, "Dammit..."

An agent walked up and reached out to her to pull her away from him, "Hey! Stay still!" When he got close enough, she snapped her teeth at his hand and he barely pulled back in time to avoid getting bitten, "Oi!" Her eyes sharpened and she growled, baring her teeth rather comically despite the situation.

After an accidental announcement that a Buster Call was requested, all of the marines and agents booked it out of the courthouse. Zambai watched in confusion, "Battleships are coming? Why are the Navy soldiers running away?" Paulie grit his teeth around the butt of his cigar, "The woman said that the island will be burned to the ground."

Zambai looked at him incredulously, "But this is the Government's island!" Paulie looked at him, "How should I know why?!" Tazz leaned against the blond man once more, "You think the Government cares about one measly island? They could probably just take over another in the name of justice."

Zambai looked at the entrance of the courthouse, "Hey! What're we gonna do?! Isn't this dangerous?!" Paulie sighed a bit, "It's been dangerous ever since we set foot in this place." A smile grew on Tazz's face as the situation became all the more grim, "Well, If we're screwed, there's no use in lamenting about it."

Paulie looked at her and his eyes widened at seeing the smile of someone who has already accepted their fate, the smile both unnerving and calming him at the same time. Paulie nudged her off of him as his ropes fell away. She blinked at him before chuckling, "You sly man." He began untying her and she stood before jumping and pulling her bound wrists under her legs to her front.

Zambai turned around when he heard ropes dropping, "You bastard! I thought you were strangely calm! So you pretended to be tied up using your own rope?!" Paulie looked at him as he began untying the others, "Yeah. I was waiting for a chance." Zambai clenched his fists, "You were waiting?! When the island is about to be burned down and we were all left behind?!"

Paulie stood and held the ropes, "To put it another way, we could escape from the Navy because of that, right?" Zambai leaned forward, "Don't be so calm, Galley-La!" Tazz held out her cuffed wrists with a small smirk, "Would you prefer we panic and cry for mommy? The best thing to do in a situation like this is to keep a level head. I had already accepted that we were possibly gonna die. By the way, can someone get these off of me?"

One of the other members of the Franky Family began picking the lock to her cuffs as Paulie spoke, "They said Buster Call or something. Considering how panicky they got, there's only a little time left." Tazz rubbed her wrists when the cuffs were taken off and she looked at Paulie, "Buster Call... I've heard of it. As strange as this sounds, when I was seventeen and left my hometown, I wasn't a pirate at the get-go. I actually joined the Navy so I could get stronger during that time, I heard of something called Buster Call. They send out a bunch of power to completely decimate an island. That's all I heard about it since I left a year later when my brother set out."

Paulie looked over at her and blew out some smoke with a small smile, "There's still a lot I don't know about you, huh?" She smiled and shrugged before one of the Franky Family spoke, "What about Big Bro Franky? What about the Straw Hats?" Another turned to him, "Those people are unstoppable! They don't need us to worry about them!"

Zambai turned to the others, "We're gonna hurry up and escape from this island!" They all exited the courthouse and released the giants before climbing onto them. As Zambai shouted about surviving, Paulie just watched him from the corner of his eyes with a look of mild irritation and Tazz covered her ears, "So noisy..."

A deep and loud rumbling drew everyone's attention behind them to see the Gates of Justice full opened. Paulie tensed his jaw, "Granny Kokoro surely said that those doors never open all the way, and yet..." Sweat dripped down Tazz's temple and she gripped the back of the bench so hard that the wood cracked a bit, "It must be for the Buster Call..."

Lulu held his arm out to the side, "Come back alive!" After a group shout of Luffy's moniker, Tazz grit her teeth and stood before clenching her fists at her side and shouting at the top of her lungs, "LUFFY! IF YOU DIE HERE, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!!" She panted from the yell and watched the Tower of Law get smaller the farther they got from it and she fell to the seat as exhaustion finally took hold of her.

Paulie took her hand and squeezed it as he looked at her just as a blast knocked the top of the Tower of Law off. Tazz gasped and jumped up, putting her hands on the railing, "Shit! It started!" The buildings around them began to blow up as cannon fire rained down.

She felt her knees weaken, grip on the railing tightening as her eyes widened. After a bit of running, the giants finally burst through the front gate only to freeze upon seeing the battleships already positioned there. Tazz's blood ran cold and she stared in horror, "This can't be... They intend to leave no survivors..."

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she sank to her knees, hope fading from her rapidly as the cannons were aimed at them. Paulie just puffed on his cigar as Lulu asked him, "What're you thinking about right now, Paulie?" He watched the ships in front of them, "Memories of my past."

Lulu turned his head to the blond, "Don't say something like that..." He was cut off by Paulie, "Or... The hell that we're headed to now..." Tazz bit her lower lip and shut her eyes, blindly reaching up for her boyfriend's hand and squeezing it when she found it, slightly comforted by the returned squeeze before she stood and smiled the same smile she had in the courthouse.

Paulie saw something at the edge of his vision and he looked down, "Hm? That's..." He slid down on a rope and Tazz watched before following after him. After landing, they ran down the steps and Paulie knelt by a transponder snail.

Zambai shouted down at the blond, "You're picking up a transponder snail?! What're you gonna do with that?!" He rubbed the snail off and looked back, "We can find out how the Straw Hats are doing!" He turned back around at the sound of the cannons and Tazz grabbed his shoulder.  
The cannonballs landed and exploded, destroying the front gate and knocking everyone around. Paulie created rope ladders attached to the giants' ankles that everyone clung to and Tazz grit her teeth in pain as some blood dribbled from her mouth, a large splinter of wood having pierced her right side and another ran straight through her left shoulder. She looped her arms around the ropes so that she wouldn't have to use her hands to hold on.

Tazz chuckled and smiled after hearing that her brother defeated Lucci, "That idiot did it..." Everyone started cheering and Zambai put the snail on his shoulder, "You did it, Straw Hat!" The blond scowled at him, "Y-You morons! They can hear us!"

Zambai frowned at the foreman, "That's okay! We'll let him know!" After the Franky Family had gotten their cheering out of the way, Paulie interrupted them, "Stop it! If we had just taken off, we would've been considered dead!" The blond go out some more rope, "Now, if we take our sweet time here, the battleships will come again! Let's hurry up and get out of here!"

Zambai continued speaking into the receiver, "Anyway... We have a means to escape, so don't worry about us! We'll see you after we make it out of here alive!" Everyone then began to climb up, though Tazz was a bit slower than the others due to her injury. At the sound of the orders to eliminate Luffy, Tazz froze and stared at the rope ladder with wide eyes.

Her blood began to boil with anger and she went up the rope faster before Paulie's hand on her arm stopped her, "What could you do in your condition?!" She bit her lip and looked at him, "I just can't stand by!" He wrapped his hand over one of hers holding on to the rope, "Just trust him!"

They all began to shout for Luffy to stand, tears springing to Tazz's eyes as she joined in. They fell silent when they heard another commotion on the other end of the line before it was revealed that the Straw Hat ship had arrived. Tazz grinned, "Merry!"

They climbed up the ropes and Paulie made Tazz sit down so he could work on removing the wood from her body. He frowned and put his hand on her uninjured right shoulder, "This is gonna hurt like a bitch..." She nodded and grabbed the fabric of her pants.

Her eyes squeezed shut and she let out an agonized scream when he ripped out the wood from her shoulder in one go. He let her get a breather and he moved her hands to his shoulders and she gripped them tightly with another scream when he pulled the second piece of wood from her side. She leaned heavily against him and panted, weakly holding on to him when he picked her up bridal style.

The group made their way to Puffing Tom and Paulie carried her to the engine room and gently sat her against the wall so he could get the train started. He was shoveling coal into the boiler when Zambai came in, "It seems that Straw Hat and the others were able to escape!" Paulie stood and grinned, "All right! We'll go back, too! Did everyone get on board okay?!"

Zambai grinned back, "Yeah! I put the seriously injured in the passenger cars!" Paulie turned forward to get the train moving, "Okay! Those who're outside, hang on tight so that you won't get thrown off!" The Square Sisters made their way inside the engine room and Paulie blushed when they hugged him, "Whoa! You guys, don't come in here!"

Kiwi smiled, "We never would have made it without your ropes!" Mozu agreed, "We owe you our lives!" Paulie's eyes sharpened comically, "Shut up! Get off me, you pervs!"

The sisters got closer to his face as Kiwi spoke, "You're as innocent as ever." Mozu once more agreed, "As innocent as ever." Paulie's face turned completely red, "You two... Enough is..." He finally had enough and kicked the sisters out of the engine room.

Once the twins left, Paulie was met with an odd silence and he looked back to see Tazz unconscious with her let shoulder and right side covered in blood. He grit his teeth and poked his head out of the window, "Guys! I need a medical kit and a knife or something! Tazz passed out from blood loss!"

Lulu retrieved a few rolls of gauze and some cotton pads that was found in one of the passenger cars as well as a small blade from one of the Franky Family and took them to Paulie, who had laid Tazz on the flood. The blond took the rolls and directed Lulu, "Stay at the wheel. I'll take care of her." He took a deep breath at what he was about to do.

He put the knife under the bottom of her cropped shirt with the sharp side up and pushed it along the fabric, cutting it so that it could be removed without jostling her injuries. He stopped the bleeding of the shrapnel wounds on her shoulder and side before placing clean cotton pads over the injuries. He got one of the rolls of gauze, "Lulu, I need you to sit her up. I swear, if you look anywhere other than her head, I'll poke your damn eyes out."

The bed-headed foreman walked over and crouched by Tazz's head, making sure to keep his eyes on her face. He sat her up and Paulie began bandaging her shoulder and then her side, making sure to cover her whole torso since she no longer had a shirt. After the bandages were secured, he shrugged off his jacket and carefully slipped her arms through the sleeves before zipping it up.

When Paulie was about to ease her down, Lulu put his hand up, "I'll take the wheel. You should sit back and keep an eye on her." The blond nodded and sat against the wall before pulling Tazz into his lap so she was sideways and leaning her against him as he closed his eyes. He gently wrapped an arm around her and soon fell asleep.


	19. The Fist of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone that Luffy and Tazz hoped to not see for a while shows up out of the blue.

Two days after returning to Water Seven, Paulie was walking along a backstreet with some of the shipwrights of Galley-La. A group of screaming girls got his attention and he snapped at them, "Out of our way! You guys stay away! You're in our way!" He stood on a bridge and began directing the craftsmen on where to go to fix the damages caused by Aqua Laguna.

A distance away at the special pirate room in the temporary Galley-La headquarters were the Straw Hats and Tazz, the latter being sprawled out on the floor in a corner of the room with a gloomy air around her similar to Nami's while she was sat at the small table. The whole crew, with the exception of Sanji, were wearing Galley-La shirts since the townspeople had confiscated all of their belongings. The chatter in the room was a dull din in Tazz's ears as she stared at the ceiling and sulked.

After actually listening a bit when Franky showed up, she smiled when he told that he would be giving them a magnificent ship. All of a sudden, a chill ran down her spine and she sat bolt upright with a look of dread on her face, drawing all eyes to her. Sanji blinked and turned towards her, "Tazz-can, what's wrong?"

She swallowed nervously, "I feel a terrible beast coming..." Right after the words left her mouth, a large hole was blown into a wall and Tazz jumped up before running to her brother and shaking him violently, "Oi! Luffy! Wake up!" A voice rang out as a figure stepped through the dust, "So you guys are the Straw Hats?! I've got some guys who I want to have meet Monkey D. Luffy."

Tazz's spine straightened at the sight of the man and her body shivered from head to toe while the others got in a defensive stance in front of their captain and his sister. Suddenly, the Vice Admiral ran passed the group and towards the still sleeping Luffy and Tazz who watched with horror. The Vice Admiral pulled back his fist, "Wake up!"

He brought it down on the top of Luffy's head and grabbed the back of Tazz's black Galley-La tank top when she tried to run away. He pulled her back so that she was running in place while Luffy sat up and clutched his head, "O-Ouch! That hurt!" The man began to take of his dog headgear, "There's no means to ward off a fist of love! Looks like you've gone on quite the rampage, huh, Luffy, Tazz?"

Luffy looked up at the old man with wide eyes and Tazz froze in a running position as sweat beaded down her face, "Ack! G-G-G...Grandpa!" Everyone in the room stared before their eyes widened, "What?!" Chopper gaped at the scene, "A-A Navy Vice Admiral is...their grandpa?!"

He moved back, still holding a frozen Tazz by the back of her shirt as the others stared at him in shock, "An I have a word or two for you, missy! Luffy! Isn't there something you need to apologize to me for?!" At hearing the mutterings of his name from the soldiers outside, Nami gasped, "'Garp'?! 'Garp' is the name of a Navy hero!" Sanji turned to his captain, "Luffy! Is he really your and Tazz's grandpa?!"

Luffy furrowed his brows, still holding his head, "That's right! Don't you dare mess with him! When Tazz and I were kids, he almost killed us a bunch of times!" Garp finally released Tazz and she dashed over to her brother as the old man crossed his arms, "Now, don't go giving me a bad name. I shoved you two into a bottomless pit... I threw you two into a jungle at night... I attached you two to balloons and let them fly... I did all those things in order to make you a strong man and woman!" Sanji watched the Vice Admiral, "I think I've just discovered where Luffy's endless vitality comes from..."

The man just stared down the sibling and Tazz latched on to Luffy, cold shivers going up and down her back, "I eventually entrusted you with my friend and had you two train with Ace...but I take my eyes off you, and look what happens... I trained you two to become strong marines!" Luffy and Tazz jumped up as Luffy spoke, "I told you over and over that I wanted to become a pirate!" Garp glared at the two, "You two got corrupted by 'Red Hair'! How foolish! Tazz! You had the guts to join the Navy and then desert it once Luffy turned seventeen?!"

She took a step closer to Sanji as she tried to keep a brave face, "I-I-I joined the Navy to get stronger than I was! I planned on leaving for Luffy from the get-go!" Luffy glared at their grandpa, "Sh-Shanks saved my life! Don't badmouth him!" Garp grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and pulled back his fist, "How dare you talk like that to your grandpa?!"

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and held up his hands, "Ahhh! I'm sorry!" Chopper's eyes almost bugged out of his head, "This is terrible! Luffy got captured by the Navy!" Luffy squirmed in his grandpa's grasp and Tazz tried to take the chance to run away, but was caught by the front of her shirt.

Chopper let out a scream, "TAZZ, TOO!!" The siblings flailed their limbs and Sanji watched on, "Oh, no! Their combative spirit against that old man has already been broken!" Suddenly, all three of them were asleep, Garp still holding on to his limp grandchildren's shirts. 

Franky's, Sanji's, and Chopper's eyes bugged at the sight, "WHAT?! THEY FELL ASLEEP?!" They contemplated what to do as the family continued to snooze in their positions. Garp woke up with wide eyes, "Oh, no. I fell asleep."

He looked at the siblings and his eyes narrowed before he pulled them back, "Wake up, Luffy! Tazz! Is that how you behave when you're being scolded?!" He slammed the two against each other and they woke up with a scream as their grandpa continued, "And that's not how you should speak to your grandpa in the first place! And Tazz! You should know better than to run away! You shall be scolded harsher than Luffy for being a deserter to boot!"

He continued smacking the siblings around as the others watched on with exasperated sighs. Thankfully, the beating ended soon enough and Tazz and Luffy nursed the large bumps on their heads with pained tears in their eyes. Garp crossed his arms again, "Do you even know what kind of pirate 'Red Hair' is to start with?!"

Luffy leaned forward, "Shanks?! Are they... Are Shanks and the others doing okay?! Where are they?!" Tazz sniffled a bit, "Demon Gramps!" Garp stared down at Luffy, "Doing okay?! Well, there are countless pirates nowadays, but out of all of them, he's ranked in the top four pirates, in the same league as Whitebeard. These four reign over the second half of the Grand Line like emperors. So people call them the Four Emperors. Navy Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea have joined together to fight these four! If the balance among these three great powers is lost, it is said the world peace will fall apart. That's how large their power is."

Tazz had stars in her eyes while Luffy just looked clueless, "I didn't really get that, but it's good to hear he's doing okay." Tazz clenched her fists in determination, "I wanna be one of the Four Emperors! Or at least a Warlord..." Garp brought his fist down on her head once more, "Absolutely not!"

The sound of fighting from outside drew their attention. Tazz and Luffy ran outside and Luffy called to the swordsman, "Oi, Zoro, wait! You don't have to fight!" He was cut off by a kick to the jaw and Tazz glared at the pink-haired boy that did it.

Luffy pulled his fist back and was about to punch the boy when he used the Soru technique, vanishing from in front of Luffy. The boy ran up from behind Luffy and jumped only to have the front of his jacket grabbed and he was slammed to the ground just as Zoro disarmed the blond one. Garp laughed as he came outside, "You guys are no match for them after all!"

The boy raised his hand, "You really are strong. I'd expect no less from you! I concede!" Tazz finally recognized the boy and her eyes widened as she watched him stand and continue speaking, "Luffy-san! Zoro-san!" He patted his pants, "It's been a while. Do you recognize me?"

Luffy stared as Tazz walked up to the boy with a grin, "Who are you?" He smiled at her brother, "It's me! Coby! Don't you remember me?" Tazz slung an arm over Coby's shoulder, "Luffy! He's the chore boy from Alvida's ship!"

She leaned her face closer and smirked, "You sure have gotten cute. Too bad I already have a boyfriend." She removed her arm from him as he blushed brightly and sputtered while Garp shouted, "WHAT?! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!" Tazz looked at her grandpa and used the Soru technique to appear beside him, "By the way, Gramps, what's that technique called?"

His eyes bugged as he turned to her, "You can use Soru?!" She nodded, "Yeah. I figured out how to do it at Enies Lobby." Meanwhile, Luffy was staring at Coby, "I do have a friend Coby... but the Coby I know was short..." Coby grinned, "That's me! The Coby who was a hopeless crybaby!"

While Coby, Luffy, and Zoro conversed, Garp grabbed Tazz by the front of her shirt and shook her as she flailed her legs, "NOW EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND! WHO IS HE?! WHERE IS HE?! WHAT KIND OF GUY IS HE?!" Tazz held his wrists, "Gramps! Calm down! It was inevitable, right?!"

He stopped shaking her and gave her a hard stare while keeping his grip on her tank top, "Now to answer your questions, his name is Paulie and he works at here at Dock #1 as a foreman. He's kind of rough around the edges but is very.... insistent on women dressing modestly." Garp finally released her after a moment and nodded to himself, "As long as he keeps you out of trouble..." She rubbed her neck and let out a breath before remembering something.

Garp blinked when a gloomy air surrounded her and she laid sprawled on her stomach on the ground, "He went to go help repair the backstreets and I wanted to go but he wouldn't let me... He said he didn't want me to push myself..." Garp just sweat-dropped and looked back to his grandson who was starting to walk back to the building with Coby and Zoro.

As they passed by, Zoro stooped down and grabbed the back of Tazz's shirt and dragged her inside while she continued to sulk. He dropped her on the floor once they got inside as Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro watched the marines and Garp fix the wall he busted. Sanji put his hands in his pockets, "I thought your grandpa was a big shot."

Luffy just watched his grandpa, "Well... I don't know much about his job." Garp turned his head to Luffy, "Come to think of it, Luffy... I heard that you saw your old man." Luffy's brows furrowed a bit, "What?! Our dad? What do you mean by our dad? We have a dad?"

Tazz punched the top of her brother's head after standing, "Of course we do, dumbass." Garp switched his hammer to his other hand as he began to pick his nose, "Oh... Then he didn't tell you who he was? I heard he saw you off at Loguetown." Luffy and Tazz stared at their grandpa, "Wh-What's our dad like?"

Garp continued to pick his nose and hammer at the same time, "Your father's name is... Monkey D. Dragon. He's a revolutionary!" Luffy turned his head to his crew, "Hey, guys... What're you so surprised about?" Sanji's eyes widened, "Idiot! You don't know the name 'Dragon'?!"

Nami spoke next, "Your father is a dangerous man!" Tazz's brows furrowed before she let out a breath before smirking a bit, "We have quite the family...." Luffy blinked at her before turning to Robin, "Hey, Robin..."

The woman put a hand on her chin, "How can I explain it...? Pirates wouldn't start a fight with the Government or Navy, but there's a power trying to bring down the World Government directly now. That's the revolutionary army." Tazz cut in as she crossed her arms, "And our old man is the one who leads it..." Robin nodded and continued, "Their ideology has now spread in many countries around the world, which caused rebellions and led several kingdoms to fall. The Government naturally became angry and has been searching everywhere for their mastermind, Dragon, all this time as the world's most heinous criminal...but he's been considered a mysterious man whose background was completely unknown. And yet..."

Garp continued hammering while his subordinates watched in shock, "Ah! I guess... I shouldn't have said anything about it, huh?" He began laughing, "Well, then...forget what I just said!" Almost everyone in the surrounding area turned white from the shock and Tazz chuckled, "Knowing all that, I'm tempted to raise as much hell as our dad..."

Garp threw his hammer back behind him and it nailed Tazz right in the forehead, making her fall over onto her back, "Gack!" Once the wall was fixed, they made their way outside and Garp turned to the siblings, "Since you're my grandchildren, I decided not to capture you on this island! I'm gonna give the Navy that good excuse, so stay here and rest easy!" A man with a hat stepped up behind him, "That can't be an excuse, so let's just tell them that they got away."

Garp folded his arms across his chest, "I just came along with this two. Well, take your time and talk with them. I'm going back!" Tazz and Luffy both raised a hand, "Okay! See ya!" Garp punched Luffy in the face and Tazz in the top of the head, "That's too casual!"

They fell back and rolled a bit as Garp clenched his fists, "Be more reluctant to say goodbye, you idiots! You haven't seen your grandpa in forever!" They both sat up and held their heads, "What do you want us to do?! All you did was hit us!" Garp remained firm in his stance, "Even so, I still want my grandchildren to love me, you morons!"


	20. Farewells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Straw Hats and Tazz finally leave Water Seven.

After the demon grandpa left, Tazz went back inside and rubbed her head, a tear still at her eye, "That damn geezer..." She sat down on the floor next to Zoro and Sanji handed her a cup of tea before giving one to Robin, "Anyway, that old man was like a storm." Robin looked at the cook, "I was really surprised about Dragon. So they were special to begin with because of their lineage."

Chopper looked back at Zoro and Tazz, "Where's Luffy?" Zoro pointed at a wall with his thumb, "He's out front talking to Coby and his buddy." Sanji looked at the swordsman, "Don't you have to go? They're your friends, too, right?"

Zoro smiled a bit, "It does bring back memories...but it was Luffy who saved Coby." Chopper blinked, "Nami isn't around either, huh? I thought she wanted to hear stories about the marines... I wonder if she decided to let them talk alone..." Robin looked at the little doctor, "She went to the pool with Kokoro-san and the others."

Chopper just looked at her, "Pool?" Robin smiled, "Yeah, to the Galley-La Company's employee pool that's behind here." Sanji began his love twirl, "What?! Nami-san's wearing a bathing suit?! I'll go bring drinks or something! Would you like to come, Tazz-chan?"

Tazz smiled and drank the rest of her tea, "I think I will. Even if I don't get in the water, it'll feel nice to lay in the sun." Sanji's visible eye turned into a heart, "My lovely Tazz-chwan in a bathing suit~!" She rummaged through a sack of her clothes she brought from Paulie's house and pulled out the black and orange flame bikini she had before going into the bathroom to change.

Luckily, she was healed enough to need only a bandage on the wounds on her left shoulder and right side and Sanji gave a dopey grin at seeing her figure, "So beautiful~!" She laughed softly and started heading to the pool with Sanji right behind her. She laid out on a lounge chair and handed Sanji a bottle of sunscreen, "Would you mind putting this on my back, Sanji?"

He looked like he was on cloud nine and he nodded quickly as he took the bottle, "Of course, Tazz-chwan~!" He put some sunscreen on his hands before spreading it across her back, grinning to himself at the feeling of her soft skin. She hummed softly as he rubbed it into her skin before he pulled away, "Do you need anything else, Tazz-chan?"

She shook her head and smiled, "No thank you. I'll let you now if I do, though." He swirled away to see if Nami needed anything and Tazz turned onto her back and soon fell asleep basking in the warm sunlight. The sound of shouting and grilling meat roused her from her slumber and she grumbled softly as she rubbed her eyes, "What's all the fuss about...?"

The shouting had come from Paulie when he had seen what Nami was wearing and he used a towel towel to try to block the orange-haired woman from Iceburg's sight. Upon hearing Tazz's voice, his attention was drawn to Tazz and his face went completely red, "TAZZ! WHAT'RE YOU WEARING?!" She yawned a bit and sat up, "A swimsuit. We're at a pool after all."

He wrapped a towel around her from behind and kept it there with his arms, "I won't allow it!" She pouted and tilted her head back to look at him, "I was just sunbathing..." He grumbled and sat behind her with his legs on each side of hers, "I don't want any other men to look at you..."

She chuckled softly and leaned against him, watching the others have a lively party, "How sweet..." She trailed off and her smile faltered. Paulie noticed her change in mood and looked down at her, "What's wrong?"

She nestled against him and closed her eyes, "Let's...Let's just sit here like this for a while. I don't know when we'll be leaving, so I want to spend as much time with you as I can." He hugged her tighter and put his chin on the top of her head, "Don't make it sound so sad, dumbass." She chuckled softly, "Yes, yes."

They sat like that and just watched everyone enjoy the festivities. They eventually fell asleep along with all the others and laid down on the lounge chair, Paulie lying on his back with Tazz slightly curled up on top of him with his arm draped over her.

After waking up early enough in the morning that they wouldn't be bothered by anyone else, Paulie gently picked Tazz up and began walking home for a couple of more hours of sleep in his own bed. When he got there, he carefully opened the door before entering and shutting it with his foot and walked to his room, kicking off his boots and just plopping down on the bed with her and falling back asleep. The next time he woke up, he got out of bed to get ready for work and left the room with a lingering glance to Tazz.

He was long gone by the time she woke up and she frowned since she wanted to see him before she went to check with her brother and his crew. She sighed softly and got dressed in a dark gray tank top and black to-the-knee shorts before slipping on an extra pair of boots that she had kept at Paulie's house. She left the home and began walking with her hands on her pockets.

When she got to the outskirts of the shipbuilding island, she glanced out in the direction of the scrap heap island and saw familiar people working on something down there. She started heading down to check it out. Once she got there, she smiled when she saw that it was Franky and the twins as well as the foremen and Iceburg.

She walked over to them, waving when Tilestone spotted her, "Hello there, Tazz!" His booming voice drew the attention of Paulie and he paused in his task to look at her, "Shouldn't you be with the Straw Hats?" She chuckled and jumped up to sit on a large piece of a broken ship close to him, "One of them will come find me if they need me."

She watched the blond return to work as she propped her elbow on her folded knee and put her chin in her hand, "Besides, I said I want to spend as much time with you as I can, didn't I?" He blushed a bit and nodded, "Y-Yeah..." She smiled and fell silent as she watched him work.

After a moment, Iceburg turned to her with a smile, "If you decide to stop being a pirate whenever you come back, I could give you a job at Galley-La as a shipwright." She smiled back and nodded, "As long as you won't mind having someone with an active bounty, then I'd greatly appreciate it." Lulu pressed in his bed-head and it popped out on Tilestone's forehead, "It would be nice to have a female shipwright that's just as capable as us."

They then fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds being from their work. Tazz laid back and put her hands behind her head as she stared up at the bright blue sky and watched the clouds pass by lazily. When Iceburg was taking a break, he leaned against the scrap that Tazz was reclined on and he looked at her, "I heard that an Navy Vice Admiral stormed in to Dock #1 yesterday. Garp the Fist, I believe is who it was. Were you guys alright?"

She slightly blanched at the mention of the old man before nodding, "Y-Yeah..." She rubbed the top of her head, "He scolded my brother and I..." Iceburg blinked, "Scolded? Why would he do that instead of capturing you two?"

She folded her hands behind her head once more, "He's our grandpa. He wanted us to join the Navy." Everyone just stared at her in shock before letting out a collective, "What?!" She nodded and crossed her legs, "Also found out that my old man is Monkey D. Dragon."

Their eyes bugged, "WHAT?!" After calming down, Iceburg let out a sigh, "I didn't know that the world's most wanted man had children..." Paulie took a puff of his cigar, "So that means that Garp is Dragon's dad? That's quite the big name family..."

Tazz hummed in agreement and they went back to work and she soon drifted to sleep. After a bit, Paulie nudged her awake, "Oi, Tazz. Wanna go with me to get some things?" She rubbed an eye as she sat up before nodding.

She hopped off the scrap and stretched as she and Paulie began walking. She took his hand as they went to a few stores before stopping at one. She heard someone running around behind them and turned to see a familiar mop of green hair.

She grinned when she saw that he had three babies in a sling around his neck and groceries in both hands and her grin widened at seeing the small shirt he was wearing. When he realized the Tazz had seen him, he turned bright red and hid in an alley before gesturing for her to come over. Tazz looked at Paulie, "I'm gonna go check something out. I'll be right back."

She placed a kiss on his cheek before walking over to Zoro and stepping into the alley with her hands on her hips and a smirk, "That's a nice look on you, Zoro." He blushed brightly and glowered at her, "You better not tell the others about this." She chuckled and held her hands up defensively, "Don't worry. This stays between you and me."

One of the babies began crying and Tazz blinked before gently taking the baby from the sling and holding him to her chest, gently rocking and rubbing his back, "There, there..." Zoro watched on as the baby quickly fell asleep, "You're good with babies... I think you'd make a great mom." She smiled softly at the infant before placing him back in the sling, "Maybe someday..."

She smiled at Zoro who returned it, "Well, I should get back to Paulie now. Good luck in... whatever it is that you're doing." She waved as she turned and walked back over to her boyfriend and taking his hand. She smiled to herself at the thought of possibly having children of her own.

After getting what he needed, Paulie and Tazz returned to the scrap heap island and she took her a spot on a chunk of scrap, leaning back with her hands behind her head. She watched the day turn to evening before her eyes began to drift closed and she tuned out the sounds of working around her. She fell asleep as the stars started to appear.

After a while, Paulie wiped his chin with his arm and looked at Franky and Iceburg, "Seriously, those two are extraordinary. Just as you'd expect from Tom's Workers!" Lulu looked up as well, "Yeah, we're barely keeping up with them. It boggles the mind that they could work at such a crazy pace." They continued to watch their boss and Franky work and Tilestone added, "And there isn't even the slightest fault in their work."

Paulie turned back to his task, "We're not gonna get anywhere just by sitting here and admiring them. Let's show them what us Dock #1 workers are made of!" They continued working until some of the Franky Family came up with refreshments. Iceburg and Franky took a break while the foremen took over and Tazz continued snoozing near the bonfire that was started.

Soon it was the foremen's turn for a break and the all just stared at the food in their hands and Paulie let out a sigh, "When we're so exhausted that we can't even manage a late-night snack..." Tilestone looked at Iceburg and Franky, "Those two are the very definition of inexhaustible." Paulie looked next to him at Tazz and lightly ran his hand through her hair with a small smile.

Lulu watched Paulie's face soften, "It'll probably be rather dull at the Dock without her. She wasn't there for long, but she made it livelier than it already was..." Paulie nodded and smiled again when she nuzzled her head into his hand in her sleep, "Yeah..." The blond found a blanket and tossed it over Tazz before they got back to work after resting.

They continued working until the sun began to rise and Paulie was the last to collapse near Tazz. She slightly woke and reached around, finding him and pulling him towards her and fixing the blanket so it was over the both of them. She curled against him and fell back asleep with an arm draped over him and her face pressed against his chest.

She began to wake at the sound of shouting and she opened a bleary eye before she rubbed it and sat up, hair sticking up every which way. She heard snoring and looked down to see Paulie still asleep and she smiled softly. She then looked in the direction that the shouting came from and saw the Square Sisters leading the Straw Hats towards the completed ship.

She frowned a bit, not wanting to leave before she gave a sigh and stood as Zoro headed over to her and gave her the backpack she left at the temporary headquarters. She took it with a nod of thanks and put it on before sitting next to Paulie as the Straw Hats began to explore their new ship. She heard Paulie wake up and saw him sit up from the corner of her eye and felt his hand on hers, "So today's the day, huh?"

She nodded and looked at the ground and Paulie dug through his pockets. She blinked when a small transponder snail with orange goggles appeared in her line of sight. She looked over at him and he smiled, "I did say that I'd give you a transponder snail before you left, didn't I?"

She smiled back and nodded, taking the snail and putting it in her pocket, "You did..." The men of the Straw Hats went off to find Franky and Tazz and Paulie continued to sit next to each other, watching the horizon. After a bit, screaming was heard and a mass fell from the sky.

Before she could realize what it was, Paulie slapped his hand over her eyes as he glowered at Franky. Tazz heard something about a swimsuit and turned her head to Paulie and he moved his hand so it still blocked her from seeing whatever had fallen yet allowed her to see him, "I guess they had to go with a round-about way to get him to join?" He let out a sigh of smoke and nodded, "I'm not moving my hand until he gets his swimsuit back."

She shrugged and leaned against him, "No complaints here." Paulie winced and his cigar fell from his mouth and Tazz heard Franky cry out in pain, "What happened?" He kept her view of him blocked and he swallowed nervously, "N-Nothing..."

She hummed, not satisfied with his answer but decided to let it go. She heard Iceburg's voice and tuned everything out as she leaned against Paulie. After a moment, Paulie just decided to turn her to face him, "I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes..."

She smiled softly and nodded, "And I'll come back no matter what I have to do..." He pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder to hide the tears building in his eyes. They hugged each other tightly before they heard two people running towards the group.

Zoro and Sanji ran to the ship and Sanji spoke, "We've got trouble!" Zoro continued running next to the cook, "Your grandpa is back, Luffy! Tazz! They're at the opposite seashore! They're looking for us now! They're going to attack us!" Tazz looked at the two as Luffy watched them run closer, "What?! Why?! I thought he said he wasn't going to capture us."

Sanji responded, "How would we know?! Hurry up and get ready to set sail!" Only when Franky was out of view did Paulie let Tazz turn around. They both stood up and he turned her back towards him and put a hand on her cheek and tilted her head up as his other arm went around her waist.

She put her arms around his neck and smiled softly before closing here eyes as he leaned forward and pressed their lips together. They continued the kiss for a moment before they were forced to part due to air and no time. He gave one last peck to her lips before pulling away with a small smile as he took her hands in his larger ones, "Be safe... I love you, Tazz."

She returned the smile and squeezed his hands, "I will. I love you, too, Paulie." Their hands slid out of each other's as she stepped back before turning and jogging to the ship. She hopped up to the railing in one jump before stepping down on to the deck and turning around as the sails were unfurled.

Her eyes instantly teared up when they met Paulie's but she still smiled brightly as she waved. He waved back with his own small smile as he watched their ship slowly get farther away.


	21. Reuniting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After two years, Tazz finally makes it back to Water Seven and Paulie.

Two years later, Paulie found himself yet again running away from his debt collectors and fangirls. He quickly dashed into an alleyway to lose them and he leaned against a wall and let out a heavy sigh after catching his breath. He rubbed the back of his head and peeked out, looking on both sides before exiting the alley with another sigh.

He put his hands in the pockets of his suit pants and looked at the ground, fiddling with a velvet box in one of them. He sighed softly, "I wonder how she's doing..." A somewhat familiar female voice responded to him, though it was a bit deeper and rougher than the one he desperately longed to hear, "Then go ask her." He exhaled a plume of smoke and looked up at the sky, "I would if I could. I lost contact with her two years ago. She hasn't been answering my calls."

The voice replied once more, "Maybe something happened that kept her from answering?" He kept his gaze on the clouds, "Maybe... Either that, or she just doesn't care about me anymore." He could almost hear the smile when the mystery woman spoke again, "Why don't you go see her?"

He let out a short laugh, "Are you kidding? She's probably halfway across the world right about no-" He turned to the source of the voice and cut himself off when he realized who he had been talking to. How could he ever forget the messy black hair and piercing orange of her eyes?

The one he had been waiting for was now standing a few meters away, though her appearance had changed quite a bit since he last saw her. Her hair was now scruffier and reached just passed the nape of her neck with the left side of her fringe in a braid that went passed her jaw. Instead of the wild eyes that she previously had, she now only had her left one that was half-lidded in a relaxed manner yet still sharp while her right one was covered with a black eye-patch with a gnarly scar going over it.

Her body had also bulked up, but it in no way took away from her feminine curves and his eyes lingered on her metal left arm and he noticed that she was wearing an outfit she had bought with him: a tight, black, sleeveless shirt with cream fur around the shoulders and camouflage cargo pants tucked into her black combat boots. After getting over the initial shock of her appearance, he grinned widely and ran towards her as she opened her arms. He swept her off her feet into a tight hug and spun her around.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gladly reciprocated the hug as they both laughed a bit. He set her down on her feet and pulled back enough to look at her face which was now more mature than before. He smiled and eagerly pressed his lips to hers after removing his cigar, hungry for a loving kiss after so long.

She kissed back and put a hand on his cheek. They parted for air too soon for their liking and they just smiled each other before Paulie spoke, "You look like you went through hell..." She shrugged with a chuckle, "I did. But I'm just glad I'm here now."

He put his arm around her and started leading her to his home, taking her knapsack as he did so, "Let's go get you home so we can catch up." She smiled and leaned against him as they walked. When they arrived, he held the door open for her and shut it behind him after entering.

She smiled and looked around, "Hasn't changed... I've been looking forward to this place since after all the chaos I've been through." He smiled and took her knapsack to his room before returning to her and guiding her to the coach. They sat and Tazz crossed her legs ankle-over-knee and looked at him with a small smirk, "You been promoted? You look good in a suit."

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Ice-burg-san promoted me to vice-president of Galley-La." She smiled and took his hand, "Oh, a big shot now, huh?" He chuckled and nodded again before blinking when she started digging through her pockets.

She pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it out to him, "This is my new wanted poster..." He unfolded it to show a picture of her with her current appearance flipping off the camera with a haughty smirk as Luffy gave a peace sign in the background. His eyes widened at the reward for her, "460 million?!"

She rubbed the back of her neck with an awkward chuckle, "Yeah... I hate to say this, but the only reason it's higher than Luffy's is because I.... I actually killed people..." She frowned and stared at her lap, "At Marineford after Portgas D. Ace was killed, I blacked out and went on a rampage..." He watched her for a moment before pulling her against his side, "I know you wouldn't have done it if you could've helped it."

She smiled a bit and looked up at him, "Do you mind having a criminal for a girlfriend?" He smiled and shook his head, "Of course not." He kissed the top of her head before taking her metal left hand, "You mind telling me about how all this happened?"

She looked at the artificial limb, "Well... I had tried to stop Akainu from getting to Luffy, so he grabbed my arm and basically melted it and ripped it off. I also lost my right leg after I blacked out and started rampaging and Doflamingo cut it off to try to incapacitate me. Hawk-Eyes Mihawk got my eye after I got in his way." He hummed at her words before bringing her hand to his lips, "If you're worried about what I think of you now, don't. You're just as beautiful as when I first met you."

She smirked and leaned against him, "Going soft on me?" He blushed and lightly chopped the top of her head with his hand, "Of course I am. It's been two years since we've seen each other, after all." She smiled and pecked his lips before standing, "How about we go to Galley-La to see about getting me a job since I'm done being a pirate. Will Iceburg still accept me even though my bounty is so high?"

He nodded and patted her back, "Surely." He started walking to the door with her right behind. They made their way to the main office, getting stares the whole way since Paulie was walking with a strange and rather intimidating woman.

When they got there, they went to Iceburg's office and Paulie knocked before being told to enter, "Iceburg-san, I got someone who wants a job." He entered the office and stepped aside to let Tazz enter and the blue-haired man's eyes went wide with recognition. He stood and started walking closer, "Well... Is that you, Tazz?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yeah..." Her eye trailed over to her current bounty poster that was pinned to the wall and she raised a brow, "I see you've been keeping up with my bounty." He chuckled and nodded, "Well, it was what I could do to keep up with you since Paulie has lost contact with you."

She hummed and took Paulie's hand, "I'll explain about that later. Now, is that job you promised me still available?" Iceburg smiled and nodded, "Of course. You can start work today at Dock #1 if you'd like." Tazz smiled and nodded, "I think I'll do that."

After getting Tazz hired, she and Paulie went home so she could change into a pair of black cargo shorts and an olive tank top before they went back to the Dock and Paulie explained to her what she'd be doing, his eyes lingering over any scars that were exposed as he spoke. She got to work and Paulie watched from a distance as Lulu came up to him, "Yo, Paulie. What're you looking at?"

He spotted the back of the only female worker and raised a brow, "New worker? Why're you watching her?" Paulie smirked and crossed his arms, "You probably won't recognize her from this view. It's Tazz." Lulu's eyes widened behind his sunglasses and he looked at his friend, "She's back?! When?!"

The blond kept his eyes on his girlfriend, "She just got back today. After catching up a bit, I got her a job here." Lulu turned his gaze back to the woman, "Is that so? I will say that I missed working with her." The two continued watching her for a moment before Lulu put a hand on Paulie's shoulder before getting back to work.

When the end of the day rolled around and Tazz finished for the day, Paulie walked up to her with his hands in his pockets, "Wanna go somewhere to get dinner?" She rolled her shoulders before nodding, "Sure. Where to?" He hummed in thought, "I'm thinking the place where we went on our first date."

She paused and got a nervous smile, "Are you sure? I don't think I'd fit in very well with how I look now..." He put an arm around her, "If anyone has a problem with you being there, they'll have to talk to me." She smiled and kissed his cheek, "Alright then."

They went home so Tazz could change into a slim-fitting black dress that stopped mid-thigh with a deep neckline and a leg slit on the left side. She also put on some thigh-high black stockings to hide her metal right leg before putting on a pair of black high heels. She pinned her hair up but left her fringe and braid down before exiting the room and laughing softly when Paulie's jaw dropped.

He stuttered for a good minute with a heavy blush before finally regaining some coherency, "Y-You look good..." She smiled and kissed his lips, "Thank you." They left the house and he took her arm before leading her to the restaurant.

When they got there, they got just as many stares as they had heading to Galley-La before they were seated and placed their orders. After dinner, they were still sitting and sipping on wine before Paulie got out of his chair and looked at Tazz with a blush, "Tazz...." She blinked at him and nodded her head for him to continued, "I know that this is the first day we've been together since you got back after two years, and I should probably wait longer, but I can't bring myself to be patient anymore."

Her eyes widened when he knelt down and reached into a pocket before pulling out a velvet box, "You made me more confident and you took away the stress from work and whatnot. My day-to-day life has been rather dull without you and I don't want to live another second of it without you. Will you marry me?" She stared at him with wide eyes before smiling the soft and loving smile he so dearly missed, "Of course I will." After slipping the simple, silver band on to her finger, he stood and pulled her up into a hug as cheers sounded around them.

They shared a loving kiss and paid their tab before heading home for the night. When they got home and changed into pajamas, they laid on the bed in each other's arms. Paulie gently held her left hand in his, eyeing the ring on her finger, "So, why weren't you able to contact me after all this time?"

She thought for a moment about how to explain it, "Well, before Marineford, we were at Sabaody Archipelago when we all suddenly got separated and sent to different islands. The transponder snail you gave me was left on the ship. After Marineford, we were forced to spend two years training ourselves before meeting back up at Saobody. After that, I wanted to keep my arrival a surprise and I gave the transponder snail to the others so we could still contact each other." He hummed and pressed a kiss to her lips, "I'm just glad you're here now." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "Me too..."


	22. Union

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Paulie and Tazz's wedding.

A couple of months later, the two got married at a simple and down-low ceremony with only the Galley-La foremen and Iceburg, some of the Franky Family, and Granny Kokoro and Chimney and Gonbe attending. After riding away on a Yagara, the two made it back to Paulie's home and he picked Tazz up and carried her inside with a smile. He took her to their room and he gently laid her on the bed and hovered over her before kissing her.

The kiss soon got heated and he dragged his tongue over her lower lip and waited for her to allow him access. He quickly slipped his tongue inside her mouth and tilted her head with a hand at the back of it. After letting their tongues dance for a moment, Paulie took control of the kiss.

After parting, they panted heavily against each other's lips with big grins on their faces before Paulie trailed a hand down the front of her body, "I wanna get you out of this dress already." She arched her back so he could slip his hands under her and get the zipper of the simple, white dress. The blond pulled it down at an almost agonizingly slow pace before he began to carefully tug her dress down her body.

Once she was free of the dress, he let his eyes roam her scarred body that was now only covered by matching black, lacy undergarments before they rested on the long scar on her abdomen and then her right thigh where flesh met metal. He realized that she had more tattoos than when she left; now having her name above the chain on her bicep with the A crossed out, a black bear paw on her left calf, and a red and black compass on the right side of her neck. After staring for a moment, he noticed her squirming a bit and he put a hand on her hip when she spoke with a small smile, "Sorry... I'm not as pretty as I used to be..." He pressed a tender kiss to her lips, "Don't be silly. You're still beautiful in my eyes, dumbass."

She smiled warmly and ran her fingers through his hair, glad that he didn't have his goggles on, "Yes, yes." He ran his hands up and down her body before reaching behind her and unclipping her bra. He eased it off of her and tossed it aside before hooking his fingers in her panties and sliding them down her legs as he pulled back.

After getting rid of those, he turned his head back to her and blushed before the blood went rushing down below. She herself had a decent blush on her cheeks and she weakly tried to cover herself with a pout, "I don't wanna be the only one naked..." He smiled and got off the bed before stripping off his suit.

Her eye followed his hands before they were glued to his exposed skin. After getting completely nude and moving back to hover over her on the bed, he pressed his lips to her jaw before kissing down to her pulse point. She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed, moaning softly when he sucked on the spot before nipping.

He groaned a bit at the sound and pressed his hips against hers, letting her feel his hardened member. He put a hand on her hip as the other was by her side and kept him from putting his weight on her. He ran the hand on her up to a breast and gently rolled the mound before tweaking a nipple.

He inwardly smirked at the moan he got in response. He made a dark mark over her pulse before he leaned back on his knees to look at her again. The sight of her with a light sheen of sweat and a flushed face with knitted brows made him bite back a groan.

He slid his hands up and down her thighs before trailing one to the apex, rubbing a thick finger over her slit and making her arch her back a bit. She grasped the sheet under her, "P-Paulie..." He shivered at the sound of his name from her mouth and slipped his finger inside, getting a louder moan and buck of the hips from her.

He slid his finger in and out before adding a second and he waited a bit for her to adjust when he saw her face scrunch up in mild discomfort. When she adjusted, he began pumping his fingers in and out of her at a steady pace. He closed his eyes so he could focus on taking it slow and pleasuring her rather than think about how much he wanted to be inside her at that moment.

He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his forearm and he saw her rolled her hips against his fingers. He smirked to himself, pleased that he could get that reaction from her, before he pressed his thumb to her clit and got a mewl from her. He continued fingering her and judged by the escalating pitch of her moans and more desperate movements of her hips that she was getting close to release.

He scissored his fingers before curling them and hitting a spot that had her keening with pleasure. He blinked before smiling and repeatedly hitting that spot until she climaxed. When she came down from her high, he pulled his fingers from her and sucked of her slick before moving back over her.

He positioned himself as she put her hands on his shoulders with her chest still heaving. He looked at her with soft eyes, "Ready?" She nodded and shivered at the initial intrusion before she whimpered softly as he stretched her.

He paused when he reached her barrier before thrusting in the rest of the way, placing gentle kisses around her face as she clung to him. He whispered comforting words as he waited for her to adjust, not daring to move until she did. After a moment, her grip on him relaxed a bit, "P-Paulie... You can move now."

He nodded and slowly pulled out before sliding back in, shuddering at the tightness. The sound of her loud moan was music to his ears and he once more pulled out before going back in a bit faster than before. He started up a steady pace and groaned against her neck as he buried his face against it.

She grasped at his upper back and dug her fingertips into the firm muscle as she bucked against him, tilting her head back with moans spilling from her throat. After a moment of the slow pace, Paulie decided to kick it up a notch and went a bit faster and harder. The change of pace was well-liked if he were to judge by how her moans went up an octave.

He closed his eyes and once more picked it up, now being a step away from pounding in to her. She arched her back and pressed her body flush against his as she clung to him and she continued to moan and mewl. He grabbed one of her thighs and pushed it up a bit, letting him hit deeper than before.

He resumed marking her throat with various shades of red and purples as he felt her slightly tighten around him. She squeezed her eye shut and arched off the bed, "Paulie! I'm close..!" He groaned against her neck and bucked against her, "Say my name again..."

She gladly obliged and his name poured from her mouth like a prayer. He slammed his hips against her and used the hand on her thigh to rub at her clit, making her body tense. He rubbed circles with his thumb until she tumbled in to climax.

His hips stuttered as he went after before stilling as he emptied himself inside her. He propped himself over her as they both panted heavily and basked in the afterglow. After catching his breath, he fell to the side and pulled her back against his chest and nuzzled the top of her head.

They both smiled tiredly and he wrapped his arms around her as she placed her hands on his forearms. She hummed sleepily and closed her eye, "I love you, Paulie." He hugged her a bit tighter, "I love you, too..."

He pulled the covers over the both of them and sighed happily before he drifted off to sleep with her not too far behind. They slept soundly through the evening and night. In the late morning, Paulie groaned as he began to wake and he hugged his new wife closer, not wanting to wake up yet.

He sighed into her hair and opened his eyes, smiling softly at the messy black hair in front of him. He buried his face in the fluffy mass once more and took a deep breath before carefully sitting up against the headboard to watch Tazz continue sleeping. She turned around to her other side so she now faced him.

He smiled and ran a hand through her hair before resting it on her cheek. She smiled in her sleep and nuzzled against his hand before she began to wake up. Her eye fluttered open and she yawned before looking up at Paulie with a smile, "Good morning."

He rubbed her cheek, "Morning." She sat up and Paulie couldn't help the blush on his face as the covers pooled around her waist as she stretched. He glanced away before pulling her to his side, "We have the day off. What do you wanna do?"

She hummed in thought as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Hmm... I'm fine with just laying in bed all day if it's alright with you." He nodded and kissed the top of her head before sliding out of the bed, "You stay right there. I'm gonna make you some breakfast." She tilted her head, "You don't have to..."

He smiled and turned towards her after putting on his boxers, "But I want to. I'll be right back." He then left the room and later returned with two plates of pancakes and bacon balance on one arm with the other hand holding two mugs of coffee. She smiled and scooted back over to make room for him after he handed her her plate and mug.

He got back under the covers and they began eating. Tazz smiled softly to herself, "You know... This is probably the happiest I've been in a long time." He looked over at her before nudging her with his elbow, "Me too..."

They smiled at each other before returning to their breakfast. After finishing, Paulie took the dishes to the kitchen before coming back and once more getting back under the covers, pulling Tazz down to cuddle with him. He sighed contently, "I'm still having a hard time believing that we're married now..."

She nuzzled her head under his chin, "Me too." They proceeded to lay about in bed for the day, only getting out of it for lunch and dinner before night came and they went to sleep in each other's arms.


	23. The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few months of working, Tazz and Paulie get a surprise.

A few months after their wedding and hard work, Tazz was promoted to a foreman of Dock #1. One day, a group of pirates stood in the shipyard and watched her work in a black bikini top and olive cargo shorts. They smirked among themselves and the captain, a rather rotund and undesirable looking fellow, crossed his arms as he addressed the woman, "Oi. I've decided that I won't pay for the repairs to my ship, but instead you can spend a night with me in my cabin."

She kept hammering a piece of wood in place and didn't even bother to look at him, "I'd rather not. I'm afraid you'll have to pay for the repairs we did or else something that you won't like will happen, sir. Now if you'll excuse me, you're interrupting my work." The captain scowled at her response, "I bet you like to be dominated, huh, you bitch? Like it rough and hard, don't you?" A throat clearing brought the pirates' attention to Paulie who stood with a disapproving look on his face and his arms crossed over his chest, "Sir, please refrain from speaking to and about my wife like that."

The captain's eyes widened and he instantly looked at her left hand before smirking, "I don't see a ring." Tazz held up the silver band on a silver chain around her neck, "I keep it here. I'd rather not lose it while working." The captain fumed and his face turned red from anger, "Still! I won't pay for the repairs!"

Paulie pinched the bridge of his nose, "Tazz, would you be so kind as to show them what happens when someone refused to pay?" She gave him a grin that made him shiver a bit, "Sure thing!" The captain scoffed and reached a hand towards the woman, "What do you think you can do?!"

She suddenly disappeared from in front of the pirates before her voice came from behind them, "I'd highly advise that you keep your hands to yourself." The pirates stumbled back and stared at her, "How the hell did you do that?!" She put a finger to her lips with a sly grin, "It's a secret~!"

A piece of paper fluttered in the wind before flying into the captain's face and he quickly yanked it off to looked at it, "What the?!" He looked at it before his eyes widened at seeing that it was the wanted poster of the woman that was currently smirking at him. He looked at the reward before pointing at her, "Get her!"

The nearest pirate drew his sword and lunged at her, missing when she used Soru once more before jumping up and landing vertically with a hand on his face. The others gaped at her and the nearby shipwrights paused in their work to watch the spectacle. She began spinning on her hand, kicking any close pirates before dropping down and picking up the largest one effortlessly.

The captain took a step back, "Are you a monster?!" She chuckled and threw the pirate in her hands a good distance away, "Maybe." She quickly grew tired of the fight and glared at the captain before releasing a pulse of haki, knocking him and the rest of his crew unconscious.

She patted her gloved hands off before putting them on her hips, "They never learn, do they? They should be able to tell from all my scars that I'm not someone to mess with..." Paulie chuckled and put an arm over her shoulders , "Apparently not. That last thing was new, though. What was it?" She put her arm around his waist, "I let out a pulse of haki. There's three kinds: Observation haki, armament haki, and Conqueror's haki. Every living creature has the first two, but only a few have the last. The first two can be obtained through training but the last can't be. Observation haki gives one a sixth sense, per se, of the world around them. Armament lets one use their spirit as a type of armor and Conqueror's haki is like an amalgamation of the other two, but it also lets the one who has it overpower the will of others."

Paulie looked down at her as she continued her explanation, "I have Conqueror's haki and so does my brother. During the two years we were separated, I've been training my haki along with my body and devil fruit abilities." He hummed and leaned down to kiss her head, "I've got a special wife, huh?" She chuckled and nodded, "That you do, my dear."

He pulled back and put his hands in his pockets as he ordered some random shipwrights to begin moving the unconscious pirates out of the way and gave her a kiss on the lips, "I'll let you get back to work." She kissed back and smiled, "Feel free to hand around as long as you want. I don't mind." He smiled and sat back against a pile of lumber as he watched her work.

He felt a twinge of pride when she picked up the mast from the ground and jumped up to the ship before placing it in its rightful spot, glad that he had such a strong wife. She jumped back down and went back to hammering wood in place with some nails held between her teeth. After a moment, she placed her hammer in a sheath strapped to her right thigh before digging through her pockets and getting her orange bandanna.

She folded it before putting it around her head like she did when she first helped Paulie and she gave him a grin and thumbs up before returning to her task. He watched her for a moment before standing and giving her another kiss before heading back to his own duties. She watched him walk off before she resumed hammering as Lulu looked over the railing of the ship she was working on since he had been working up on it, "It's always entertaining to watch the shock on pirates' faces when think they can get away with not paying and you put them in their place."

She chuckled and took one of the nails from her mouth and put it in place before hammering, "I'm glad you enjoy the shows." He grinned before resuming his job. Tazz smiled to herself as she worked, content with her new life.

After work, Tazz and Paulie walked home for the night and changed into pajamas once they got there. Tazz whipped up a quick yet delicious dinner and they ate with some chatter here and there. After finishing, Tazz began washing the dishes as Paulie walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, settling his chin on her head, "You know, I'm proud to call you my wife."

She chuckled softly and continued washing, "I'm proud that I make you proud." He chuckled and kissed the top of her head before helping her with the dishes. Afterwards, they got to bed and cuddled against each other with loving smiles.

The next morning, Paulie woke to hear Tazz groaning across the hall in the bathroom. He quickly jumped out of bed and jogged over to see her curled around the toilet with a hand on her sweaty forehead. He knelt down and rubbed her back, "What's wrong?"

She sighed and ran her hand back through her hair, "Don't feel good..." He stood and frowned softly, "I'll go call a doctor." She held her hand up, "You don't have to..."

He took her hand, "I'm going to. I don't want you getting worse." She sighed before reluctantly agreeing and he left the bathroom. Not too long after, she found herself lying on their bed with the doctor examining her with Paulie holding her hand and sitting on his side of the bed.

When the doctor finished, he smiled at them and put his hands in the pockets of his labcoat, "Congratulations. You're pregnant. I'd say you're about three months along." Tazz bit her lip and looked at Paulie to see his eyes wide and an unreadable expression on his face. After letting the information sink in for a moment, a wide grin broke out on his face and he pulled her into a tight hug.

Paulie released her to pay the doctor for the examination before quickly ushering him from the house and returning to Tazz, grin still on his face. He got back on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She grinned just as brightly and hugged him back before looking up at him, "What about work?"

He got a stern look on his face, but it didn't last long, "I won't let you lift a single thing until the baby's born. I'll handle work." She sighed before nodding, knowing that he wouldn't change his mind, "Fine, fine." He kissed her forehead before getting out of bed to get dressed, "Though, I do want you to stay with me. I don't want to leave you alone."

She smiled and nodded, getting out of bed to get dressed as well. She put on her usual non-working outfit of the sleeveless shirt with fur and camo pants. They left the house after a quick breakfast and went to Galley-La.

When they got there, Tazz supervised the other shipwrights under her as Paulie stayed by her side with a grin still on his face. Tilestone soon came over, curious as to why Tazz wasn't working as usual, "Hey! What's up?!" Paulie crossed his arms and looked at his wife, "I'm not letting her do anything other than supervise. I don't want her doing anything that could hurt the baby."

The large man stared for a second before his jaw fell open, "WHAT?! SHE'S PREGNANT?!" The couple jumped at the volume of his voice before Paulie held his hands up, "Calm down, Tilestone! You're too loud!" Silence fell over the shipyard as all the craftsmen stared at them before loud cheers and hollers erupted at the news.

Lulu walked over with a grin and smacked the blond on the back, "Congrats, Paulie, Tazz! How far along are you?" Tazz rubbed the back of her neck, "Around three months." Lulu rubbed his chin and looked over as Iceburg walked over, "Ah, Iceburg-san! Did you hear the news?"

The blue-haired man nodded and smiled, "I did. Congratulations, you two." Paulie smiled and rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "Thank you, Iceburg-san! Would you like to be the godfather?" The man grinned back and nodded, "Of course!"

After a few more cheers, the shipwrights went back to work and Paulie took Tazz's hand, "What would you want to name the baby?" She hummed in thought before smiling softly and putting a hand on her belly, "If it's a boy, Ace. If it's a girl, Lorelai." He smiled and squeezed her hand, "Wonderful names."


	24. The Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tazz has someone meet those close to her and she gets a surprise call from the last person she ever would've expected.

One year later, Tazz sat on the couch with a blue bundle in her arms as she waited for the recipient of her call to pick up. When the call was connected, her brother's voice sounded from the other side, "Who is this?" She chuckled and looked at the bundle in her arms, "Yo, Luffy."

Several gasps came from the other end of the line before her brother spoke again, "Tazz?!" She smiled, "Yeah, it's me. I've got someone I want you to meet. Ace, say hi to your uncle." Tazz lowered the receiver closer to the infant who grabbed it and babbled curiously.

There was silence on the other end before the transponder snail began to pour tears as Luffy's tearful blubbering came through, "I-I-I'M AN UNCLE?! AND YOU NAMED HIM AFTER ACE?!" Tazz laughed and took the receiver back from the baby, "Yeah. That was the only name I'd want to give him." Sanji's voice came out and Luffy's happy sobbing sounded more distant and a shout was heard, "That idiot just ran out to scream it to the world. Who's the father?"

Tazz looked back at Paulie when she heard him enter the living room and she smiled, "Paulie is. We got married a couple of months after I got back." She could almost see the stern look on Sanji's face, "Let me talk to him." She scooted over on the couch and handed Paulie the receiver after he sat down.

He slung an arm over the back of the couch, "Yeah?" It sounded like the cook sighed before he spoke, "You better take good care of them. If I ever hear anything bad about you from Tazz-chan, you better believe I'll come find you and kick your ass, got it?" Paulie blinked before raising a brow and looking at Tazz as she shrugged with a smile, "Yeah. I got it." 

What sounded like a struggle came from the other end of the line before Zoro's voice came through, "Congrats, you two. I'll be sure to drink extra for Tazz since we'll most likely have a party later to celebrate." Tazz chuckled and took the receiver when it was handed back to her, "Thanks, Zoro." After several congratulations from the rest of the crew, Tazz hung up and leaned back against the couch, smiling down at their child.

After a few minutes, the transponder snail began ringing and Paulie and Tazz looked at each other before she looked back at the snail, "I wasn't expecting a call..." Paulie leaned forward and picked up the receiver, "Hello?" A strange male voice come from the snail, "Hello. Is Tazz there?"

Paulie handed her the receiver, "Yes, this is Tazz. Who is this?" The voice chuckled, "I figured you wouldn't recognize my voice. We were kids last time we spoke. It's Sabo." Her eye widened and her hand began trembling, "That's... That's impossible... He's dead...."

Paulie looked at her with wide eyes and saw that large tears began pouring from her eye as the voice continued, "Well, here I am. All those years ago... Dragon saved me and took me under his wing. I ended up losing my memories after the incident but they returned after... Ace's death. Luffy just called me to tell me to contact you saying you had a surprise." She bit her lip before smiling, "I do. I want you to say hello to Monkey D. Ace..." She lowered the receiver to their son once more and he giggled before babbling.

Sabo fell silent before chuckling, "A new addition to the Monkey family and named after Ace, huh? Let's hope he doesn't get Luffy's hardheadedness." Tazz chuckled and wiped the tears from her eye, "Yeah... Now that I know you're alive, you better come visit me at Water Seven." Sabo laughed softly, "I will next time I get a mission in that area. I missed you, Tazz."

She smiled and leaned against Paulie, "I missed you, too, Sabo." After saying goodbyes and the like, the call was ended and Tazz let out a sigh and smiled. After a few minutes of silence, a loud banging came from the door and the two jumped up as Ace began crying.

Tazz paled when the voice on the other side of the door, "Let me see my granddaughter!" She swallowed thickly and followed Paulie to the door, rocking Ace in her arms to quiet his crying. Her husband put his hand on the knob and looked to Tazz.

She nodded and Paulie opened the door, revealing Garp standing there with a scowl on his face. He looked at the blond before he spotted Tazz, harsh expression fading when he saw the bundle in her arms. He stared for a moment before looking at the woman, "I.... I have a great-grandson...?"

She relaxed a bit and nodded, "Yeah... Monkey D. Ace." Garp entered the house with Paulie's permission and he held his hands out, "Ace... Can... Can I hold him?" Deeming him not to be a threat at the moment, she handed her grandpa the bundle.

The large man took the infant in his arms and the baby stared up at him with big orange eyes. The old man smiled as a tear came to his eye and he rubbed the patch of dark blond hair at the top of the baby's head with a finger, "I came here because I heard you were here, Tazz, and I was going to capture you, but.... I can't break a family apart." Ace giggled and grabbed the man's finger before trying to chew on it with toothless gums and Garp grinned as he wiggled his finger, "Happy little runt, isn't he? You better grow up strong and become a marine, you hear?"

Tazz and Paulie smiled at the sight as the blond put his arm over Tazz's shoulder. Garp looked at Paulie and gave a hard stare, "You better keep them out of trouble." Paulie hugged his wife to his side, "I plan on it."

Tazz chuckled and put her arm around his waist, "I actually gave up piracy. I'm a shipwright at Galley-La now." Garp nodded his head in approval before looking back to Ace, "That won't stop others from trying to get you, so you best be careful." Tazz nodded in return, "I know..."

After a bit longer, Garp handed the baby back to his mother before leaving the house, "I'll tell HQ that there was interference and you escaped." Tazz nodded and lifted a hand, "Alright. See ya." Garp brought his fist down on the top of her head, "That's too casual! At least be sad about saying goodbye!"

Ace giggled as Tazz squatted down and used her free hand to hold the top of her head, "Demon grandpa!" Garp huffed and rubbed his cheek with a finger, "I'll try to visit when I'm in the area..." She looked up at him before standing back up and nodding, "Alright. Bye, grandpa."

After he left, Tazz rubbed the top of her head again and pouted, "That damn geezer...." Paulie chuckled and took Ace from her, "So that's Garp the Fist? He's livelier than I imagined." She smiled and nodded, "Where do you think Luffy and I get it from?"

They heard chatter and some shouting coming towards them and they looked over to see Lulu, Tilestone, and Iceburg conversing as they walked closer. When they saw the couple, they all smiled and looked at the baby in Paulie's arms. Iceburg patted Paulie's shoulder, "Congrats. He's a cute one." Lulu nodded and pushed at the strand sticking out and it appear on Tilestone's forehead, "He'll be a ladykiller when he grows up."

Tilestone raised his fists and spoke in an oddly soft voice, "He'll be a great shipwright just like his parents!" Paulie looked down at his son and smiled, "Whatever he decides to do, I'll support him." Tazz leaned against the blond and rubbed Ace's cheek as he let out a yawn, "We both will. Whether it's a pirate like I was, a marine like my grandfather, or a shipwright like Paulie."

They all smiled at the baby as he fell asleep before the others bade their farewells and left the couple to retire for the evening. Paulie placed the sleeping baby in his crib as Tazz changed into pajamas before he followed suit. He placed a kiss on her head and hugged her, "As cheesy as this sounds, I feel complete with you and Ace in my life."

She smiled and hugged him back, "I could say the same." They smiled at each other before going to bed for the night, happy with their little family.


End file.
